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COPYRIGHT DEPOSIT. 



THE CIVIL GOVERNMENT OF 
VIRGINIA 



FOR THE USE OF SCHOOLS 



BY 

ROYALL BASCOM SMITHEY, A.M. 

/i 

PROFESSOR OF MATHEMATICS, RANDOLPH-MACON COLLEGE 
AUTHOR OF " HISTORY OF VIRGINIA" 



REVISED EDITION 



NEW YORK -CINCINNATI /.CHICAGO 

AMERICAN BOOK COMPANY 



•NGWESS 
Twc Copies *Rhukivho 

MAR 22 1904 

\ Copyngpt £„try 
CLASS ^ XXc. No, 
COPY 8 



Copyright, 1898 and 1904, by 
ROYALL BASCOM SMITHEY 



CIVIL GOV T OF VIRGINIA. 



Co JYIy Sister 
ESTELLE SMITHEY 

I DEDICATE THIS BOOK 



PREFACE 

This volume has been prepared to meet a growing 
demand for a text-book on the Civil Government of 
Virginia suitable for school use. It contains an outline 
of the entire state system, presented with sufficient full- 
ness, it is hoped, to give a clear idea of the structure 
and workings of the government in all its departments. 
Chapters on the Public School System, Taxation, Elec- 
tions, and Political Parties have been added, and the 
relations between the state and the nation have been 
clearly brought out. Technical terms have been avoided 
as far as possible, and explanations have been given of 
those rendered necessary by the nature of the subject. 

To make Civil Government interesting it must be 
made real. This can best be done by encouraging 
students to verify as far as possible the statements made 
in a text-book, by examining the actual workings of local 
government in their vicinity. As a help in this direc- 
tion, a few suggestive questions have been placed at the 
beginning of each chapter that treats directly of the 
operations of the government. If the teacher, before 
assigning a topic for study, will ask these and similar 
questions, students will be led to realize that govern- 
ment is not something entirely dissociated from them- 
selves, but that its operations are taking- place all around 

s 



PREFACE 

them. At the close of each chapter will be found ques- 
tions which cover all important points. 

My thanks are due to Overton Howard, Esq., of Rich- 
mond, for helpful suggestions in regard to court pro- 
cedure, and to Colonel Morton Marye, Hill Carter, Hon. 
Geo. S. Shackelford, Judge E. D. Newman, and E. L. 
C. Scott for valuable criticisms upon parts of the manu- 
script. 

This book is sent forth with the hope that it will 
cause the youth of Virginia to appreciate more fully 
the duties and responsibilities that will soon rest upon 
them as citizens, and thus aid them in becoming worthy 
successors of the men of the past, to whose virtue and 
knowledge the greatness of the state has been so largely 
due. 

R. B. SMITHEY. 



PREFACE TO THE REVISED EDITION 

Since the first edition of this book was published, a new 
Constitution has been adopted by the people of the State, 
and the statute laws have been amended. This edition 
has been carefully revised throughout, and gives an ac- 
curate outline of the government of Virginia as now ad- 
ministered. I am indebted to Hon. Joseph W. Southall, 
Sup't of Public Instruction, and to Frank P. Brent, Esq., 
Sec'y of the Board of Education, for their kind assist- 
ance in reading the proof-sheets of the chapter on the 
Public. School Svstem. R. B. S. 



CONTENTS 



PAGE 
9 



I. INTRODUCTION 

Society; Rights; Different Kinds of Rights; Duties; Origin 
of Government; Forms of Government; A Republic; A 
Nation; A Constitution; Laws; Three Departments of 
Government; The United States; Two Allegiances. 

II. THE COUNTY 15 

Origin of the County; The Virginia County; Importance of 
the County; Functions of County Government; The 
County Seat; County and District Officers; Qualifying for 
Office; Vacancies; Board of Supervisors; The Treasurer; 
The Surveyor; The Superintendent and Overseers of the 
Poor; The Coroner; Commissioner of the Revenue; Jus- 
tice of the Peace; The Constable; The Sheriff; The 
Commonwealth's Attorney; The Clerk; Other County 
Officers; Salaries of County Officers. 

III. TOWNS AND CITIES 29 

Formation of Towns and Cities; The" Charter; Difference 
between a Town and a City; Functions of City and 
Town Government; The Council; How an Ordinance is 
made; The Mayor; Other Officers. 

IV. THE STATE — LEGISLATIVE DEPARTMENT . 36 

The General Assembly; Qualifications of Members of the 
General Assembly; Sessions; The Capitol; Privileges of 
Members and their Salaries; Scope of State Legislation; 
Restrictions upon State Legislation; Apportionment of 
Senators and Delegates; Organization; Officers of the 
Senate; Officers of the Plouse; Duties of Clerks; Duties 
of the Sergeant-at-Arms; Standing Committees; The Mak- 
ing of a Law. 
V. THE STATE — EXECUTIVE DEPARTMENT . 47 

Executive Officers; The Governor; The Lieutenant Gov- 
ernor; Secretary of the Commonwealth; The Auditor of 
Public Accounts; The Second Auditor; The State Treas- 
urer; The Attorney General; The Commissioner of Agri- 
culture and Immigration; The Militia; State Corporation 
Commission; Other Executive Departments and Officers; 
No Free Passes. 
VI. THE STATE — JUDICIAL DEPARTMENT . . 60 

A Judicial Power Necessary; The Courts; A Case at Law; 
Jurisdiction; The Justice's Court; The Circuit Court; 
The Supreme Co%rt of Appeals; City Courts. 
VII. LEGAL PROCEEDINGS' . 69 

Duty of a Court; Juries; How Grand Juries are obtained; 
Trial. Juries for Civil and Misdemeanor Cases; Trial 
Juries for Felony Cases; 1. Proceedings in Civil Cases — 
Ordinary Civil Cases, First Proceedings in Ordinary Civil 
Cases, The Trial, Chancery Proceedings; 2. Proceedings in 



8 CONTENTS 

PAGE 

Criminal Cases — The Prevention of Crimes, The Detec- 
tion of Crimes, Before a Justice, Indictment for Felony, 
The Trial, Habeas Corpus. 

VIII. THE PUBLIC SCHOOL SYSTEM 80 

History of Popular Education; Organization of the Public 
School System; Officers of the System; The Board of 
Education; The Superintendent of Public Instruction; 
The Division Superintendent; The District School Board; 
The School Trustee Electoral Board; The District Board 
of School Trustees; Teachers; Pupils; School Funds; 
City Schools. 

IX. ELECTIONS 91 

The Right of Suffrage; Qualifications required; Registra- 
tion; The Election System; Election Officers; Board of 
State Canvassers; County and City Electoral Boards; 
Election Districts; Precinct Officers; Commissioners of 
Election; Election Supplies; Voting Places; At the Polls; 
Challenging; Counting Votes; The Returns. 

X. POLITICAL PARTIES 100 

Origin of Political Parties in the United States; Parties 
a Benefit; Advantages of Organization; How a Party is 
organized; Work done by Committees; The Primary Meet- 
ing; The Primary Election; Caucus; Nominating Candi- 
dates; The Unit Rule; The National Convention; Party 
Platforms. 

XL TAXATION ■ . 104 

What are Taxes? Reasons for Taxes; What is taxed; Prin- 
ciple of Taxation; Property exempt from Taxation; Ob- 
jects for which Taxes are assessed; The Assessment of 
Taxes. 
XII. THE GOVERNMENT OF VIRGINIA IN OUTLINE 109 

Virginia, the First Constitutional Goveinrr.ent in America; 
Article I; Article II; Article III; Article IV; Artie! £ V; 
Article VI; Article VII; Article VIII; Article X; Arti- 
cle X; Article XI; Article XII; Article XIII; Article 
XIV; Article XV. 
XIII. RELATIONS OF THE STATE AND THE NATION 115 

The State and the Nation; Each State takes Part in the 
National Government; The National House of Represent- 
atives; United States Senators; Presidential Electors; 
Method of holding National Elections; The State Militia; 
Reciprocal Duties of the State* and the Nation ; Powers 
of Government delegated. 
APPENDIX ......... 119 

Government of State Institutions; Judicial Circuits; Con- 
stitution of Virginia; Constitution of the United States; 
Declaration of Independence. 
INDEX .... 221 



CIVIL GOVERNMENT OF VIRGINIA 



CHAPTER I 
INTRODUCTION . 

Preparatory Work. — Are men who live with neighbors 
about them free to do anything they like? What prevents 
one farmer from gathering the crops on all fields near him? 
Why are fences put up between farms? Why is it not right 
for a man who needs a horse to take any one he can find? 
Do neighbors always live together peacefully? When there 
are strong differences, who settles questions between them? 
Could neighbors live comfortably together if every one did 
exactly as he pleased, without regard to the rights and 
wishes of others? Then there is some limit to our freedom? 
What is that limit called? Why do we have laws? By 
whom are our laws made? Do you know any one who has 
helped to make laws for this state? What is his name? 
Who gave him the right to make laws for other people? 

Society. — A number of families living together in 
a community, where all have the same general interest, 
constitutes what is known as society. The aggregation 
of families needed to form society takes place in obedi- 
ence to a natural impulse ; for human beings are so 
constituted that they need help and sympathy, which 
they can obtain only by association with their fellows. 

Rights. — In a family no member can be allowed to 
carry out his own wishes regardless of others. The 

9 



IO INTRODUCTION 

same is true in a larger sense of society. No individual 
can be permitted to do everything he may choose ; for 
justice demands that the needs and the desires of all 
should be considered. Hence, in any organized society, 
there is need of some agreement as to rights belonging 
to all. 

Different Kinds of Rights. — Rights may be classified 
as follows : 

i. Civil Rights, which are those belonging to per- 
sons as citizens of a country, such as the rights of per- 
sonal liberty, of personal security, and of private prop- 
erty. 

2. Political Rights, such as the rights of voting, of 
holding office, and of taking part in matters that relate 
to the whole people. 

3. Religious Rights, which consist of the rights of 
worshiping God according to the dictates of conscience 
and in any manner that may be preferred. 

Duties. — With rights originate duties, which are 
things men ou^ht to do. Every right, whether it re- 
fers to an individual or to society, involves a duty ; and 
there is no duty that does not have relation to a right. 
Duties are of many kinds ; but, generally speaking, they 
may be classified as duties to ourselves, duties to others, 
and duties to God. 

Origin of Government. — Government begins in the 
family, and civil government is but an extension of 
family government to meet the needs of society. The 
development of government takes place in a natural way. 
Rights are valued by men more highly than any other 
possessions ; and, after they have been recognized, it be- 



A REPUBLIC I I 

comes necessary for society to insure the possibility of 
their exercise. Otherwise, the strong would impose on 
the weak, and the unscrupulous take advantage of the 
conscientious. So, to enforce the observance of rights, 
society provides what is called government, which may 
be denned as " the directing or managing of such affairs 
as concern all the people alike." Thus government is 
the agent of society, and is not needed, except in a lim- 
ited way in the family, till society exists. 

Forms of Government. — From very early times 
government has been divided into three forms : 

1. Monarchy, the form in which the supreme author- 
ity is vested in one person. Turkey is an example of an 
absolute monarchy, the sultan having unlimited power 
over both the property and the lives of his subjects. 

2. Aristocracy, the form in which the governing pow- 
er is intrusted to a select class supposed to be specially 
qualified for its exercise. During the Middle Ages, 
Venice was governed in this way, but at the present time 
no government is a pure aristocracy, although in some 
countries there are privileged classes that have a heredi- 
tary share in the government, as, for example, the no- 
bility in England. 

3. Democracy, the form in which the sovereign power 
is retained by the people. 

A Republic. — A republic is a representative democ- 
racy ; that is, it is a government carried on by the peo- 
ple, not directly, but through representatives whom they 
elect. If the people select their representatives wisely, 
they can secure their liberties and promote their general 



12 INTRODUCTION 

welfare better under a republican form of government 
than under any other kind. 

A Nation. — A body of people occupying a given ter- 
ritory, enjoying complete sovereignty, and guarding its 
rights and liberties is called a nation or a state. In our 
country, the word state has a peculiar meaning, signify- 
ing one of the commonwealths whose union forms the 
United States. Each of these states occupies a well- 
defined territory and has a government sanctioned by a 
constitution which was made by the people. 

A Constitution. — A constitution may be defined as a 
contract which expresses the terms by which the people 
of a state agree to be governed. After a constitution 
has been adopted, all laws subsequently enacted must 
conform to this constitution, which is for this reason 
called the fundamental law. 

Laws. — It is necessary for a government, in exe- 
cuting its functions, to lay down rules to regulate the 
social actions of men, and these rules are called laws. 
The laws found in a constitution, called constitutional 
laws, are the most permanent, while those passed by 
the legislature of a state, known as statute laws, are 
more easily changed. 

Three Departments of Government. — The powers 
of government can be exercised in three ways, — in mak- 
ing laws, in construing them, and in executing them. 
The objects of government are best attained when these 
three functions of government are kept separate ; that is 
when one set of men makes the laws, when a second set 
decides controversies under them, and when a third set 
executes or carries them into effect. 



TWO ALLEGIANCES 1 3 

The United States. — The United States is a republic 
made up of a number of states, each one of which is 
itself a republic. A republic of republics, then, the na- 
tion is. Each of the constituent states has delegated to 
the United States powers which belong to a nation in its 
relations with foreign countries, and also such as are 
necessary to make laws for the whole country. But 
all powers which the state has not surrendered, it has 
retained, and so exerts over its citizens an authority 
which is its own. Hence, as strictly national powers are 
wielded by the nation and local ones by the states, the 
United States is dual in its government, and so is called 
a Federal Republic. 

Two Allegiances. — As Virginia is one of the states 
composing the Federal Union, her citizens owe two al- 
legiances, one to Virginia and the other to the United 
States. Each government is supreme in its own sphere, 
and there is no conflict between the two. Generally 
speaking, the United States has jurisdiction in all mat- 
ters that affect its relations with foreign nations, also 
coins money, issues patents, and makes laws in regard 
to commerce, which apply to the whole country, while 
Virginia has exclusive control over the actions of her 
own citizens as long as they are in her territory, and 
also over their rights of property. 

QUESTIONS 

i. What constitutes society, taken collectively? 

2. Why is it necessary to have rights defined and respected? 

3. Give the three kinds of rights, with their respective def- 

initions. 

4. What are duties, and how are they classified? 



14 INTRODUCTION 

5. What is the origin of government, and how is govern- 

ment developed? 

6. Name the three forms of government, and define each. 

7. Define a nation. 

8. What is a constitution, and why is it called a fundament- 

al law? 

9. What are laws, and why are they necessary? 

to. In what three ways are the powers of government ex- 
ercised ? 

11. What is the form of the government of the United 

States? 

12. What powers has each of the states delegated to the 

United States, and what powers does each retain? 

13. To what two governments do the Virginians owe al- 

legiance ? 

14. What is the sphere of each? 



CHAPTER II 

THE COUNTY 

Preparatory Work. — What is the name of the county in 
which you live? Who is the judge of the circuit court, and 
what are his duties? Who is the sheriff, and what are his 
duties?. What officer collects the taxes of your county? 
Who is the treasurer of your county, and what are his duties? 
What is the name of your magisterial district? Give the 
name of the justice of the peace living in your neighborhood. 
Who are the other officers in your district? What becomes 
of poor people who are unable to support themselves? What 
public buildings does your county own? 

Origin of the County. — In the early days of Eng- 
lish history, the land occupied by a tribe and ruled over 
by a petty king was called a shire, the Anglo-Saxon 
word shire meaning division. But after the Norman 
conquest, the name for shire was changed to comity, 
which on the continent of Europe comprised a division 
of land originally bestowed by a king upon a count or 
companion. These little shires or counties were the 
units which, when united, made the English nation. 

The Virginia County. — The old Virginia county was 
a copy of its English prototype. As early as 1634, the 
colony was divided into eight shires, called James City, 
Henrico, Charles City, Elizabeth City, Warwick River, 
Warrasqueake, Charles River, and Accomac, which took 
their names from settlements embraced in them. The 



1 6 THE COUNTY 

name county first appears in the Virginia laws in 1639. 
No system of public survey was followed in creating 
new counties, but they were formed by uniting a num- 
ber of adjoining plantations as convenience dictated. 
The state now contains one hundred counties, some of 
which have Indian names, such as Powhatan, Nottoway, 
Accomac, but most of them derive their designations 
from distinguished men who have lived in Virginia, a 
number of whom were colonial governors. New coun- 
ties may be formed by the General Assembly by taking 
territory from one or more old ones ; but no new county 
can be formed with an area of less than six hundred 
square miles, nor can any of the existing counties be 
reduced to an area below this for the purpose of making 
new ones. 1 

Importance of the County. — Early in Virginia his- 
tory, the county became the unit of local government, 
just as the township did in New England, and it re- 
mains to-day the foundation of all local order and gov- 
ernment. Each county is now divided into three or 
more magisterial districts. Every county is a corpora- 
tion, 2 and can exercise any legal powers that belong to 
it as such. It may, for example, sue and be sued, own 
property, and enter into contracts. The county is sub- 

1 The Constitution says, however, " But any county, the length of which 
is three times its mean breadth, or which exceeds fifty miles in length, 
may be divided at the discretion of the General Assembly." 

2 A corporation is an association of persons authorized by law to carry 
on business under a common name, and as a single person. Authority to 
act in this way is given by law to the people of a county, town, or city, who 
can buy, own, and sell property, and can, like individuals, sue and be sued. 
Counties, towns, and cities are called public corporations, because they are 
organized for purposes of government, while such corporations as banks, 
manufacturing companies, railroad companies, etc., are called private cor- 
porations. 



I 



COUNTY OFFICERS \J 

ordinate to the state, but it is allowed by the state to 
. exercise powers of local government that are of the 
highest importance. We .begin, therefore, the study of 
state government with the county, since it is the polit- 
ical corporation of lowest order that has governing 
powers. 

Functions of County Government. — The county 
constructs roads, builds bridges, provides jails and poor- 
houses, looks after education, and in general takes over- 
sight of all local matters. These are its chief functions. 

The County Seat. — For the county seat a village or 
town is usually selected which can be reached with con- 
venience from different parts of the county. Here the 
courthouse and jail are located, and the principal county 
officials keep their offices. It has long been the custom 
for people of all classes to meet at the county seat on 
court days, for the transaction of business both public 
and private. On these occasions debts are settled, busi- 
ness engagements entered into, property bought and 
sold, and, if an election is near, much stump speaking 
and political discussion take place. 

County Officers. — The county officers elected by the 
people are a sheriff, an attorney for the commonwealth, 
a clerk, a treasurer, and one or more commissioners x of 
the revenue. Each of these officers serves for a term 
of four years, except the county clerk, who holds his 
office for eight years. In addition to the above-named 
officers, each county has also a surveyor, a superintend- 

1 The commissioners of the revenue are at present (1904) elected by the 
people, and are ineligible for reelection to their offices for the next succeed- 
ing term; but the Legislature is authorized by the Constitution to have 
them appointed, if it sees fit. If they are appointed they can, at the 
discretion of the Legislature, serve, for more than one term. 



l8 THE COUNTY 

ent of the poor, and one or more coroners, who are not 
elected by the people, but are appointed by properly con- 
stituted authorities. Their terms of service and the 
method of their appointment will be given when the 
duties of each are stated. 

District Officers. — In each magisterial district, one 
supervisor, three justices of the peace, one constable, and 
one overseer of the poor are elected by the people, each 
for a term of four years. 

Time of Election, — All county and district officers, 
chosen by the people, beginning with the year 1903/ 
are elected on the Tuesday after the first Monday 
in November, and enter upon their duties on the first 
day of January after their election. They all hold their 
offices for four years, except the county clerk, who keeps 
his office eight years. 

Qualifying for Office. — Each of the county and dis- 
trict officers is required, when he qualifies for office, to 
take an oath that he will faithfully discharge his duties, 
and also an oath that he has not fought and will not 
fight a duel. All officers except the commonwealth's 
attorney, the justice of the peace,, and the coroner have 
to give bonds, with security, to insure their fidelity. 

Vacancies. — When vacancies occur in county or dis- 
trict offices, the judge of the circuit court fills them tem- 
porarily till they can be filled by the people at the next 



1 Only a few of the counties elected clerks in 1903. In a large majority 
of the. counties, the terms of the clerks in office when the Constitution of 
1902 was adopted were extended till the first of January 1906. The 
successors of these clerks will be elected in 1905 to hold office for six years. 
Then in November 191 1, and every eight years thereafter, all the counties 
in the State will elect clerks for a term of eight years. See Acts of the 
General Assembly for 1902— 1903, p. 505. 



BOARD OF SUPERVISORS 1 9 

general election. As a rule, with hardly an exception, 
officials must reside within the limits of their jurisdic- 
tion. 

Board of Supervisors. — Each county is a corpora- 
tion, that is, it has the power to act as an individual, but 
like all corporations, it must act through agents. The 
principal agent of the county is the board of supervisors, 
which is composed of all the district supervisors. This 
board meets at the courthouse on the first Monday in 
January and on the fourth Monday in July of each year, 
and at other times as often as may be necessary. One 
of the supervisors is elected chairman, and the clerk of 
the county is ex officio 1 clerk of the board. As the 
agent of the county, this body has many important duties 
to discharge, some of which are legislative and some 
executive in character. Its chief functions are to ex- 
amine all the claims that are brought against the county, 
to allow such as are correct, and to issue warrants 2 on 
the treasurer for their payment, to audit the accounts of 
all officers who receive and pay out money belonging to 
the county, to examine the books of the commissioners 
of the revenue, to determine the amount of money to be 
raised by taxation for the government of the county, and 
to order the annual tax levies to raise it. The board 
prescribes rules and plans for repairing roads and 
bridges, and inspects all dams and rivers. It is em- 
powered, within limits prescribed by law, to levy school 
taxes, to borrow money for the county to aid in carrying 
on works of internal improvement, and to levy taxes on 

1 By virtue of his office. 

2 A warrant, in this sense, is a written order on the treasurer for 
money. 



20 THE COUNTY 

the people to meet the debt thus incurred. The board 
provides the courthouse, clerk's office, jail, and farm for 
the reception of the poor, and it has charge of all county 
property, except the courthouse, which is under the 
supervision of the judge of the court. It represents the 
county in suits at law, and in general has the manage- 
ment of the business interests of the county in all cases 
where no other provision is made. It furnishes ballot 
boxes for the voting places, has authority to have a true 
meridian run at some central and accessible place in the 
county, and can establish a hospital, if one is needed. 
This board may also abolish the fence law of the state 
in its own county or in any part of it. 

The Treasurer. — The treasurer receives all money 
that is paid into the county treasury, and disburses it in 
the manner prescribed by law. All county, state, and 
school funds come into his hands. The county money 
he pays out upon warrants issued by the board of su- 
pervisors, and settles once a year with the board, his 
accounts with the county. 

The money belonging to the state he transmits to the 
state treasury, and settles with the auditor in regard to 
what he has received on account of the state. The 
school money he pays out upon warrants issued by the 
proper school -authorities. He is not allowed to specu- 
late in county warrants, nor to use or lend county money. 
The treasurer cannot be elected or serve more than two 
consecutive terms, covering a period of eight years, and 
he cannot act as deputy for his immediate successor. 

The Surveyor. — Each county has a surveyor, who is 
appointed for a term of four years by the circuit court 



THE CORONER 21 

judge, upon the recommendation of the board of super- 
visors. He makes all surveys ordered by the courts, 
and also surveys land privately for persons who pay him 
fees established by law. Tn making surveys, he is re- 
quired to measure all lines horizontally, and to give the 
magnetic variation. 

The Superintendent and Overseers of the Poor. — 
The superintendent of the poor is appointed by the cir- 
cuit court judge, upon the recommendation of the board 
of supervisors, and holds his office for a term of four 
years. He has charge of the county poorhouse, or place 
of general reception of the poor, where he receives such 
paupers as are sent to him by the overseers of the poor 
from the several magisterial districts of the county, and 
cares for them in the manner provided by law. His sal- 
ary is fixed by the board of supervisors within limits pre- 
scribed by law ; and he is required to make an annual 
report to the board, giving a full account of his trans- 
actions. 

The overseer of the poor in each magisterial district 
looks after persons unable to support themselves, giving 
assistance to some at their homes, and having others sent 
to the poorhouse. 

The Coroner. — There are in every county one or more 
coroners who are appointed by the judge of the circuit 
court, and who may hold office for two years. The cor- 
oner's chief duty is to investigate the cause of the death 
of any person who is supposed to have died by violence 
and not by casualty. When a death takes place under 
circumstances that demand an investigation, the coroner 
is notified, and he institutes an examination. He sum- 



22 THE COUNTY 

mons a jury of six men, as well as witnesses and physi- 
cians, if needed. If the jury, after all the circumstances 
have been investigated, accuses any one, the coroner is 
required to arrest that person and commit him to prison. 

If the sheriff is disqualified, or if the office becomes 
vacant, the coroner acts in his place. 

Commissioner of the Revenue. — It is the duty of the 
commissioner of the revenue to make annually a list of 
the names of all persons in his district liable to taxation, 
together with the estimated value of the property of each 
person. Each taxpayer is required by law to furnish to 
the commissioner of the revenue a list of all his taxable 
personal property, moneys, etc., so that his taxes can be 
correctly estimated. The commissioner issues also to any 
person who pays the fees prescribed by law, a license to 
engage in any business, employment, or profession upon 
which a tax is placed. He likewise collects, while dis- 
charging his duties in connection with taxation, statistics 
of births and deaths that have taken place, and informa- 
tion in regard to ex-Confederate soldiers and sailors. 
These statistics are filed in the office of the clerk of the 
county. 

Justice of the Peace. — It is the duty of the justice of 
the peace to preserve the public peace, and therefore to 
bind over such persons as threaten to break it ; to sup- 
press riots, to issue warrants 1 for the arrest of persons 
who violate the laws or are accused of committing crimes, 
to issue search warrants for stolen property, counterfeit 
coins, etc. He issues warrants for the removal of pau- 

1 A warrant, as the term is used here, is a written order issued by a jus- 
tice, authorizing an officer to make an arrest, a seizure, or a search, or do 
other acts incident to the administration of justice. 



THE SHERIFF 23 

pers to the poorhouse, and acts in the place of the coroner, 
when no coroner is available. He has authority also to 
administer oaths, and to take and certify acknowledg- 
ments of deeds and other legal documents. In addition 
to his other duties, he presides over the humblest -court in 
the land, the jurisdiction of which will be explained in the 
chapter on courts. 

The Constable. — The constable is a conservator of 
the peace, and he is the ministerial officer of the justice's 
court. He serves the summons, warrants, writs, 1 execu- 
tions, 2 and other legal processes issued by the justice; 
arrests persons on criminal charges and upon demands of 
security of peace, and commits them to safe custody till 
he can bring them before a justice. He also summons 
juries to attend coroners' inquests. 

The Sheriff. — The sheriff's office is of great antiq- 
uity. Shire-reeve, steward of the shire, he was called 
in England, when the country was divided into shires ; 
and, in the course of time, shire-reeve was changed into 
sheriff. He is the county's chief executive officer, and 
as such he has many important duties to perform. He 
has to attend the courts that meet in his county, and to 
execute and return their orders promptly. He executes, 
likewise, all sentences and judgments of the court. He 
sells personal property under execution, and carries into 
effect decrees 3 of court for the sale of property when 
special commissioners are not appointed. He adminis- 

1 A writ is a written order issued by a court, directing something to be 
done in regard to a case or suit. 

2 An execution is the act of carrying into effect the final judgment of a 
court. 

3 A decree is a judgment or sentence of a court of equity. 



24 THE COUNTY 

ters on the estates of deceased persons, when no one 
else qualifies as administrator, and he cannot resign this 
trust when the court commits an estate to him. He is 
authorized by the state to seize the personal property of 
a taxpayer who refuses to pay his taxes, and sell it at 
auction. Out of the proceeds, he pays the delinquent 
taxes, and, if anything is left he returns it to the former 
owner. The county jail and the prisoners confined in it 
are in his charge. If prisoners are threatened by vio- 
lence from mobs, he must protect them. He has to ar- 
rest criminals, prevent crime, and preserve the peace of 
the county. He is assisted in his work by as many depu- 
ties as may be necessary, who are appointed by the circuit 
court upon his recommendation. But if in quelling riots, 
arresting offenders, etc., he needs more help than his 
deputies can give him, he may call to his aid as many men 
as he deems necessary. He may call upon the com- 
mander of any regiment in the county for soldiers to help 
him, or upon the governor for troops. 

Commonwealth's Attorney. — This officer is elected 
by the people, to be the legal counsel of the county in 
cases at law, to which it is a party and which are tried 
before the circuit court. He commences and prosecutes 
all cases in which the county is interested. He represents 
the county before the board of supervisors, looks after all 
debts due it, draws business contracts x for it, investigates 
claims that are brought against it, and in general acts 
for it in all legal matters. He prosecutes all criminal 

1 A contract is an agreement between two or more persons concerning 
something to be done, whereby both parties are bound to each other, or 
one is bound to the other. 



THE CLERK 2$ 

charges in his county and is the legal adviser of the 
county officers. If there is a tie-vote in the board of su- 
pervisors upon any question, all the members being pres- 
ent, then the commonwealth's attorney is authorized to 
cast the deciding vote. 

The Clerk. — The clerk of the county is also clerk of 
the circuit court. It is the duty of this officer to record, 
in books provided for the purpose, all legal papers re- 
quired by law to be preserved, such as deeds, 1 mortgages, 2 
wills, 3 appraisements of estates of deceased persons, inven- 
tories of property that comes into the hands of fiducia- 
ries, 4 and accounts of sales of property by fiduciaries, and 
reports of commissioner of accounts, showing what dis- 
position fiduciaries have made of funds committed to their 
management by the courts. He records the proceedings 
of the circuit court, including its rulings, 5 orders, and 
judgments; 6 issues marriage licenses, and registers mar- 
riages, births, and deaths. He makes up the dockets of 
the circuit court, and records all its decrees and orders. 
The clerk is also a probate judge, that is, he is charged 
with powers and duties in regard to the estates of de- 
ceased persons. He is required by law to take the steps 

1 A deed of land is a writing by which the ownership of land is trans- 
ferred to a purchaser. 

2 A mortgage of land is a conveyance of lands by a debtor to a creditor 
as security for the payment of a debt, the mortgage becoming void 
when the debt is paid. Mortgages are also taken on personal property to 
secure the payment of debt. These are called chattel mortgages. 

3 A will is a writing in which a person states what disposition he wishes 
made of his property after his death. 

4 A fiduciary is a person who holds a thing in trust for another person. 

5 A ruling is a decision or rule of a judge or a court, especially an oral 
decision, as in excluding evidence. 

6 A judgment is a decision or sentence of the law, given by a court of 
justice or other competent tribunal, as the result of proceedings instituted 
for the redress of injury. 



26 



THE COUNTY 



necessary to cause such estates to go to the persons 
entitled to them. So he takes proof of wills, and empow- 
ers executors 1 to act. When a person dies without a will, 
he appoints an administrator, 1 whose duty it is to distrib- 
ute the personal property among those to whom it belongs 
by law. The clerk likewise appoints guardians for 
minors whose parents have died. 

Other County Officers. — In addition to the county 
officers that have been named, there is a physician to the 
poor, who is appointed by the board of supervisors, and a 
sealer of weights and measures, appointed by the circuit 
court. The latter keeps the standard weights, balances, 
and measures furnished by the state to the county, by 
which those belonging to individuals are to be tested. 
Once also in every five years, the circuit judge appoints 
as many land assessors 2 for each county as there are 
commissioners of the revenue. These officers assess at 
a fair cash value all the lands and lots in the county with 
the improvements on them, and from the valuation thus 
obtained, the annual taxes on real estate are assessed. 
The Governor also appoints for every county, city, and 
town, as many notaries public as he deems necessary, the 
number not to exceed one for every five hundred inhab- 
itants. Both men and women eighteen years of age, or 
older, are eligible to this office. The chief duty of a 
notary public is, under official seal, to attest deeds and 
other papers for legal and business purposes. 

1 An executor is a person appointed in a will to carry out its provisions. 
He generally executes the will both as regards personal property and real 
property. An administrator distributes only the personal property, and 
has no jurisdiction over the land of a deceased person. 

2 The first land assessors under the Constitution of 1902 will be ap- 
pointed in 1905. 



SALARIES OF COUNTY OFFICERS 27 

Salaries of County Officers. — The sheriff, clerk, and 
commonwealth's attorney are generally paid partly in fees 
and partly by the board of supervisors. The justice 
of the peace is paid in fees, and so is the coroner, the no- 
tary public, the constable, the surveyor, and the sealer of 
weights and measures. The superintendent of the poor 
receives a salary which is fixed by the board of super- 
visors, and varies, according to the population of the 
county, from two hundred and forty dollars to four hun- 
dred dollars. Each overseer of the poor and each land 
assessor receives two dollars per day for the time he is 
actually engaged in the work of his office. The physi- 
cian to the poor receives a salary which is determined by 
the board of supervisors. The treasurer is paid by a 
commission on the money he receives and disburses, and 
the commissioner of the revenue is paid partly by fees and 
partly by a commission on taxes assessed by him. The 
pay of a supervisor is three dollars per day, for the time 
he actually spends at meetings of the board, and four cents 
for each mile he travels in going to meetings and in re- 
turning from them. 

QUESTIONS 

1. State the origin of the name county. 

2. How were the first Virginia counties formed and named? 

3. By whose authority, and under what rules, can new 

counties be formed? 

4. What are the divisions of the county? 

5. What powers of government does the county exercise? 

6. What are the functions of the county government? 

7. Describe the county seat, and tell what is done on court 

days. 

8. Name the county officers. Give their respective terms 

of office. 



28 THE COUNTY 

9. Those of a district. 

10. What are the qualifications for office? 

11. When vacancies occur in the offices, how are they filled? 

12. What board constitutes the principal agent of a county? 

When and how often does it meet? 

13. What are some of the duties of this board? 

14. What are the duties of the county treasurer? 

15. State the term of office, and the duties of the county sur- 

veyor. 

16. How is the superintendent of the poor appointed, and 

what are his duties? 

17. What is the difference between the superintendent and 

the overseer of the poor? 

18. By whom are coroners appointed? What is their term 

of office? 

19. Give an outline of what a commissioner of the revenue 

is expected by law to do. 

20. The justice of the peace. 

21. The constable. 

22. The sheriff. 

23. The commonwealth's attorney. 

24. What are the duties of the clerk of the circuit court? 
2S- Mention some of the other county officers with their re- 
spective duties. 

26. How are the salaries of most of the county officers de- 
termined ? 

2j. How are the salaries of the superintendent, overseer; and 
physician of the poor determined? 

28. Of the treasurer? 

9(). What is the pay of a supervisor while on duty? 



CHAPTER III 

TOWNS AND CITIES 

Preparatory Work. — Name the village, town, or city near- 
est to your home. Who is the mayor? Name a councilman. 
What other officers do you know in your town or city? How 
do their duties compare with those of similar officers in a 
county? What buildings are owned by your town or city? 
Must inhabitants of towns and cities obey the state laws? 
What special laws must they obey? 

Formation of Towns and Cities. — When any portion 
of the country becomes so densely populated that more 
minute regulations or laws are necessary for it than for 
the more sparsely settled sections, the citizens of the 
thickly settled part petition the General Assembly to in- 
corporate them into a town, or into a city if they are 
sufficiently numerous, so that they can have a local gov- 
ernment of their own. If the petition is granted, the 
Legislature passes a law, which gives the people the 
powers they desire. Thus towns and cities are formed. 

The Charter. — The law by which a town or city is 
incorporated is generally called a charter. This instru- 
ment makes the town or city a corporation, fixes its boun- 
daries, defines its powers and privileges, gives it a name, 
and states what officers it shall have to carry on its gov- 
ernment. The charter also enumerates the duties of the 
officers, and provides for their election or appointment. 
It is the fundamental law of the town or city, just as the 

29 



30 TOWNS AND CITIES 

constitution is of the state. Every charter, unless the 
contrary is expressly provided for by special act of the 
Legislature, must conform to the general laws of the state 
for the organization of towns and cities. Towns and 
cities accordingly present a general uniformity in their 
government, the state granting to all similar privileges 
and imposing on all similar duties. The form of govern- 
ment laid down in a charter usually provides for a legis- 
lative council, a mayor, a treasurer, a clerk who records 
the proceedings of the council, a police force, a sergeant, 
one or more justices of the peace, and contains provisions 
for the election or appointment of such other officers as 
may be needed. In addition to the above named officers, 
cities possessing a court where deeds are recorded have 
a clerk of the court, and there is likewise a common- 
wealth's attorney for cities that have a corporation or 
circuit court. 

Difference between a City and a Town. — A city is 
defined in Virginia law as an incorporated community 
having a population of five thousand or more, and a town 
as an incorporated community having less than five 
thousand inhabitants. 1 The term village, as used in 
Virginia means an assemblage of houses that has not 
been incorporated, but whose inhabitants are under the 
government of the county in which' they reside. 

Functions of City and Town Government. — The 
government of a city or town has many important duties 
to perform, such as to provide lights, to construct streets, 

1 Cities and towns are thus defined in the Constitution of 1902. It 
should be stated, however, that an. incorporated community, containing 
less than five thousand inhabitants, which had a city charter at the time 
the constitution was adopted is also called a city. 



THE COUNCIL 31 

bridges, and sewers, to erect public buildings, school- 
houses, and waterworks, to build prisons and workhouses, 
to establish parks and cemeteries, to prescribe rules for 
the holding of markets, and regulations in regard to the 
erection of buildings, to support a fire department, to 
provide for the weighing or measuring of hay, coal, and 
other articles offered for sale, to abate nuisances, to lay 
down regulations for the promotion of health, and to 
provide a police force sufficient to protect the lives and the 
property of the citizens. 

The Council. — The city is, for convenience in its 
government, divided into wards- and the voters of the 
different wards elect representatives to the council. This 
body, in cities having ten thousand or more inhabitants, 
is composed of two legislative chambers, called branches 
■■ — one being the board of aldermen and the other the 
board of common councilmen. These chambers have a 
different number of members, 1 and correspond to the 
houses of the legislature. Each chamber elects its own 
president. Every ward has, as far as possible, equal rep- 
resentation in proportion to population in each branch of 
the council. In cities having less than ten thousand in- 
habitants, and also in towns, the council is not divided 
into branches, but constitutes a single legislative chamber. 2 

The council is the legislative body of the city or the 
town ; and it has power to pass laws which are called 
ordinances, to carry out the various functions of the 

1 In cities having ten thousand or more inhabitants, the board of alder- 
men consists of not less than eight nor more than twenty-two members, 
and the common council of not less than fourteen, nor more than forty 
members. 

- In cities of under ten thousand population, the common council is 
composed of not less than eight nor more than forty members. In towns, 
the council has seven members, one of these being the mayor. 



$2 TOWNS AND CITIES 

government which have been mentioned, and all others 
conferred by statute law or specially granted by charter. 
It has authority to levy taxes to pay the expenses of the 
government and of the schools, and to prescribe fines or 
other punishments for the violation of ordinances. 

How an Ordinance is Made. — In a city council, an 
ordinance can originate in either chamber, but before it 
can become operative, it must first be approved by both 
chambers, and then sent to the mayor for his signature. 
If it is signed by him, it becomes a city law. But if he 
vetoes it, he returns it to the chamber of the council in 
which it originated with his objections. In this case, it 
does not become a law unless each chamber on reconsid- 
ering it, gives it a recorded vote of two thirds of the 
members elected, when it becomes a law in spite of the 
mayor's veto. 

If the council consists of a single chamber, an ordi- 
nance, to become a law, must first be adopted by the coun- 
cil, and then signed by the mayor. If vetoed by him it 
fails to become a law unless the council on reconsidering 
it gives it a two-thirds vote of all the members elected. 

If the mayor does not return a proposed ordinance with- 
in five days after he has received it, Sundays excepted, it 
becomes operative without his signature, except when 
his term of office or that of the council expires within the 
five days. 

The Mayor. — The mayor is elected by the qualified 
voters of the city or town, and is the chief executive of- 
ficer of the corporation. As such, he is responsible for 
the efficiency of the government. It is incumbent upon 
him to see that the ordinances are obeyed, and the laws 



OTHER OFFICERS 33 

of the state carried out as far as they apply to the city 
or town. In preserving order, he has at his command 
the police force, and if necessary he may call on the gov- 
ernor for aid. In towns and in some cities he holds a 
court, called the mayor's court, which tries offenses in- 
volving violations of ordinances and such cases as come 
before the court of a justice of the peace. In other cities 
a police justice holds a court that takes the place of the 
mayor's court. 

The mayor is charged with seeing that the duties of 
the various officers are faithfully performed. He has 
the power to investigate their acts, has access to all the 
books and documents in their offices, and may examine 
them and their subordinates on oath. He is authorized 
to suspend or remove officers for neglect of duty or for 
misconduct in office. 

Other Officers. — The other officers usually connected 
with the city government are a treasurer, a clerk of the 
court, a commonwealth's attorney, a commissioner of 
the revenue, and a sergeant. These are all elected by the 
people. The city sergeant is the ministerial officer of the 
courts that meet in the city, and in general his duties are 
the same as those of a sheriff. The town sergeant has 
the same duties and powers as a constable. The other 
officers discharge for the city the duties that the corre- 
sponding officials do for the county. In addition to the 
above officers, cities have an engineer, a collector, a chief 
of the fire department, a chief of the police, etc., who are 
appointed generally by the council. An examination of 
the charters of different cities and towns will be neces- 



34 TOWNS AND CITIES 

sary in order to ascertain all the points in which they 
differ in government. 

When Municipal Officers are Elected. 1 — Mayors and 
councilmen are elected on the second Tuesday in Tune, 
and enter upon their duties on the first day of the fol- 
lowing September. The other elective officers are chosen 
on the Tuesday after the first Monday in November ; and 
all their terms of office begin on the first day of the next 
January, except the terms of office of the clerks of city 
courts which commence at the same time with the terms 
of the judges. Municipal officers continue in office for 
four years, except the clerks of the courts, whose terms are 
eight years. The treasurer, after he has served for two 
successive terms, is ineligible for reelection, and he cannot 
be the deputy of his immediate successor. 

QUESTIONS 

1. How are towns and cities formed? 

2. What is a charter, and what powers does it confer upon 

a town or city? 

3. Give a list of the officers granted under a charter. 

4. What is the difference between a town and a city? 

5. What does the term village mean? 

6. Mention some of the duties performed by the govern- 

ment of a town or city. 

7. What is a town or city council, and what authority has 

it? 

8. How is an ordinance made? 

1 In carrying out this arrangement, under the Constitution of 1902, 
the first election of mayors and members of city councils will take place 
on the second Tuesday in June, 1904; and the first election of the other 
officers will occur on the Tuesday after the first Monday in November, 
1905. The legislature has authority to change the time at which municipal 
officers are elected, provided mayors and councilmen are elected at a 
different date from the other officers, and that their terms of office do 
not begin coincidently with those of the other officers. 



QUESTIONS 35 

9. How is a mayor elected, and what are the duties of his 
office? 

10. Mention other officers connected with a town or city 

government. 

11. How are they elected or appointed, and what are their 

duties? 

12. When are municipal officers elected? 



HH 



CHAPTER IV 

THE STATE — LEGISLATIVE DEPARTMENT 

Preparatory Work. — What is a legislature, and why is it 

necessary to have one? How often does the Virginia legisla- 
ture meet? Who represents your county, city, or town in 
the House of Delegates? Who is the senator from your dis- 
trict? Are representatives and senators elected or ap- 
pointed? What should be the character of the men sent to 
the legislature? What duties do they perform in the legis- 
lature ? Do you know any special law which the people in 
your community wish to have passed? 

The General Assembly. — The lawmaking power of 
the state is vested by the constitution in a General As- 
sembly, or Legislature, which consists of a Senate and a 
House of Delegates. A senator serves for four years, 
and a member of the House of Delegates for two years, 
but both are eligible for reelection. Members of the 
House of Delegates are elected by the people every two 
years, and Senators every four years, on the Tuesday suc- 
ceeding the first Monday in November, and begin their 
duties on the second Wednesday in January after their 
election. These elections take place in the odd-numbered 
vears, 1 and when vacancies occur they are filled b\ special 
elections. 

1 Formerly half the senators were elected every two years; but under 
the Constitution adopted in 1902, beginning with 1907 all the senators 
will be elected quadrennially. 

36 



sessions 37 

Qualifications of Members of the General Assembly. 

— Any person, twenty-one years old, who has the right 
to vote, 1 and is, at the time of the election, an actual resi- 
dent of the district he wishes to represent, can be elected 
to the General Assembly. 2 During his term of service he 
is required to reside in the district he represents, and if 
he does not do this, his office becomes vacant. Each 
house is the exclusive judge of the election and qualifica- 
tions of its members, punishes them for disorderly con- 
duct, and can, by a two-thirds vote, expel a member. 

Sessions. — The constitution requires the General 
Assembly to meet regularly every alternate year on the 
second Wednesday in January. The meetings take place 
in the even-numbered years. The law fixes the limit of 
a session at sixty days ; but a session can be extended 
for an additional period, not exceeding thirty days, by a 
special three-fifths vote of the members elected to each 
house. Neither house can, during a session of the Gen- 
eral Assembly, adjourn without the consent of the other 
for more than three days, nor to any other place than that 
in which the two houses are holding their meetings. 

A majority of the members elected to each house con- 
stitutes a quorum to do business, but a smaller number 
can adjourn from day to day, and has power to compel 

1 For the qualifications required for an exercise of the right to vote, 
see Chapter IX. 

- Xo person holding a salaried office under the state government, no 
judge of any court, attorney for the commonwealth, sheriff, sergeant, 
treasurer, assessor of taxes, commissioner of the revenue, collector of 
taxes, or clerk of any court can become a member of the General 
Assembly unless he gives up his office. Likewise no person in the 
employment of the United States Government, or holding a position of 
profit under it, is eligible to the General Assembly. 



38 THE STATE LEGISLATIVE DEPARTMENT 

the attendance of absent members in such manner, and 
under such penalty, as each house may prescribe. 

The governor is required to call an extra session of 
the General Assembly on application of two thirds of 
the members of both houses, or when, in his opinion, the 
interest of the state requires him to do so. 

The Capitol. — The capitol, or statehouse/ is in the 
city of Richmond, and here the constitution requires 
the General Assembly to meet, though in cases of emer- 
gency it may meet elsewhere. The statehouse is a 
handsome building, conspicuously located in a park of 
twelve acres. 

Richmond^ the capital city, was founded by Colonel 
William Byrd in 1733, and was made a town by law in 
the reign of George II. In 1779, before the Constitution 
of the United States was formed, it became the seat of 
Virginia's government, and it has continued so ever 
since that time. More events of historic importance 
have occurred in this city, and in the country around it, 
than in any locality in the Union. 

Privileges of Members and their Salaries. — Members 
of the General Assembly are in all cases, except in cases 
of treason, felony, or breach of the peace, privileged 
from arrest during the sessions of their respective houses ; 
and, for any speech or debate in either house, they shall 
not be questioned in any other place. They are not sub- 
ject to arrest under any civil process during the session 
of the General Assembly, nor for fifteen days before the 
opening and after the closing of the session. Each mem- 
ber receives a salary of two hundred and forty dollars 
for attendance and services at each regular session of the 



SCOPE OF STATE LEGISLATION 39 

General Assembly, and one hundred and twenty dollars 
for duties rendered during an extra session. The presi- 
dent of the Senate and the speaker of the House of Dele- 
gates receive each four hundred dollars for a regular 
session, and two hundred and forty dollars for a special 
session. 

Scope of State Legislation. — The acts passed by the 
General Assembly constitute the statute law, which has 
a wide field of application. It regulates the buying, the 
selling, and the inheritance of property, the administra- 
tion of estates, the making of contracts, partnerships, 
promissory notes and checks, the granting of charters to 
corporations, such as railroad, telephone, electric light, 
manufacturing, mining, and insurance companies. The 
state through its laws provides for raising, by taxation, 
money to carry on the government ; makes laws in regard 
to marriage ; prescribes the legal relation of husband and 
wife, parent and child, master and servant; provides for 
the establishment of charitable institutions ; supports edu- 
cation ; creates county, city, and town governments ; de- 
termines methods of procedure for the various courts ; 
regulates the suffrage ; is charged with the prevention of 
crime and the punishment of criminals ; regulates and 
controls the issue of stock and bonds by corporations, and 
makes laws to prevent the formation of trusts, combina- 
tions and monopolies inimical to the public good. Thus 
the state comes very near to the people, and has authority 
to make such laws as will best promote their welfare in 
all the ordinary affairs of life. Indeed, the term House 
of Delegates is intended to convey the idea that the mem- 
bers are sent by the people to enact the will of the peo- 



40 THE STATE LEGISLATIVE DEPARTMENT 

pie into law ; and each member is elected upon the tacit, 
if not the express, promise that he will vote to enact that 
will into law ; for otherwise some one else would be sent. 
Thus the will of the people becomes the law. 

Restrictions upon State Legislation. — The constitu- 
tion of Virginia puts some limitations upon the power 
of the General Assembly. For example, it is not al- 
lowed to grant divorces, to authorize lotteries, to abridge 
the freedom of speech, the freedom of the press, the re- 
ligious liberty of the people, nor to suspend the writ of 
habeas corpus, 1 except in cases of invasion or rebellion, 
when the public safety may require it. It cannot pass 
any bill of attainder, 2 any ex post facto law, 3 any law to 
impair the obligation of contracts, any law to take private 
property for public uses without just compensation, any 
law to restrict religious liberty, any special, private, or 
local laws where general laws can be enacted that will 
accomplish the purpose, nor can it appropriate public 
funds to church institutions. The General Assembly 
cannot exercise the powers which have been expressly 
delegated to the national government, nor those which 
the constitution of the United States forbids a state to 
use. Outside of these restrictions, it can pass laws upon 
any subject in which the people may be interested. No 
law can embrace more than one object, and this must be 

1 The words habeas corpus mean literally, " you may have the 
body." Ihe writ of habeas corpus is an order issued by the judge of a 
court, directing the sheriff or other officer to bring the body of a prisoner 
into court, so that the cause of his detention may be investigated. 

2 "A bill, of attainder is a legislative act, which inflicts punishment with- 
out a judicial trial." 

3 This is a law which renders an act punishable in a manner in which 
it was not punishable when it was committed. The prohibition in the con- 
stitution, against ex post facto laws, applies exclusively to criminal cases. 



OFFICERS OF THE SENATE 41 

expressed in its title. The General Assembly does not 
exercise any judicial power, except that if state officers 
commit offenses against the commonwealth, they are im- 
peached by the House of Delegates and are prosecuted 
before the Senate, which has sole power to try such cases. 
The General Assembly cannot elect its own members to 
any civil office. 

Apportionment of Senators and Delegates. — Dele- 
gates are apportioned among the cities and counties in 
proportion to the number of inhabitants. For repre- 
sentation in the Senate, the state is divided into districts, 
each one of which elects one senator, except the Rich- 
mond city district, which elects two. The constitution re- 
quires the House of Delegates to have not less than ninety 
nor more than one hundred members, and the Senate to 
have not less than thirty-three nor more than forty mem- 
bers. Both House and Senate have now the full number 
allowed by the constitution. 

Organization. — At the opening of a session of the 
General Assembly, the two houses meet in their re- 
spective chambers in the capitol. Then each house, after 
the oath of office has been administered to its members, 
proceeds to elect proper officers, to determine the rights 
of members to their seats, and to appoint standing com- 
mittees. This is termed organization, and, after this has 
been effected, the General Assembly is ready for busi- 
ness. Each house makes its own rules of procedure. 
These, however, are seldom changed. 

Officers of the Senate. — The constitution appoints 
the lieutenant-governor president of the Senate ; he ac- 
cordingly presides over the meetings, though he is not 



42 THE STATE LEGISLATIVE DEPARTMENT 

a member of the body, and is not entitled to a vote un- 
less there is a tie, when he casts the deciding vote. The 
subordinate officers elected by the Senate are, a presi- 
dent pro tern., who presides in the absence of the lieu- 
tenant-governor, a clerk, a sergeant-at-arms, a door- 
keeper, and four pages. 

Officers of the House. — When the House of Dele- 
gates is organized, one of its members is elected to pre- 
side. He is called the speaker of the House, and, like any 
other member, is entitled to a vote on all questions. The 
subordinate officers elected by the House are a clerk, 
who is also keeper of the rolls, a sergeant-at-arms, and a 
doorkeeper to assist him. The House has six pages, who 
are appointed by the speaker. None of the subordinate 
officers of the Senate or of the House are members of the 
General Assembly. 

Duties of Clerks. — The clerks of the Senate and the 
House keep journals of the proceedings, take care of all 
records and important papers and, in general, do all the 
clerical work of their respective houses. The clerk of 
the Senate is authorized to appoint assistant clerks, 
and five committee clerks ; and the clerk of the House to 
employ assistant clerks, and to appoint, subject to the 
approval of the speaker, six committee clerks. The clerk 
of the House is keeper of the rolls of the General As- 
sembly. 

Duties of the Sergeant-at-Arms. — It is the duty of 
the sergeant-at-arms to preserve order in the halls where 
the meetings are held, and to arrest members or other 
persons who interrupt business by disorderly conduct. 
They distribute among the members all papers printed 



STANDING COMMITTEES 43 

for their use ; have charge of all mail and telegraph mat- 
ter belonging to them ; and in general render them such 
services as will contribute to their comfort or facilitate the 
transaction of business. 

Standing Committees. — The Senate has to consider 
so many subjects that if the whole body investigated the 
merits of each, there would not be time for it to com- 
plete its labors ; and the same is true of the House. So, 
in order to expedite business, the members of both houses 
are divided into committees j 1 and each committee is put 
in charge of some particular subject or subjects. When a 
measure is introduced into either house, it is usually re- 
ferred to the committee whose duty it is to consider 
questions of that particular kind. This committee ex- 

1 The Senate elects its committees and they have charge of the following 
subjects: i. Privileges and Elections; 2. Courts of Justice; 3. General 
Laws; 4. Roads and Internal Navigation; 5. Finance and Banks; 6. Pub- 
lic Institutions and Education; 7. County, City, and Town Organizations; 

8. Agriculture, Mining, and Manufacturing; 9. Fish and Game; 10. En- 
rolled Bills; 11. To Examine Office of Clerk of Senate; 12. Rules; 13. Ex- 
ecutive Expenditures; 14. Library; 15. To Examine Office of Auditor of 
Public Accounts; 16. To Examine Second Auditor's Office; 17. To 
Examine Office of Register of Land Office; 18. To Examine Treasurer's 
Office; 19. To Examine Bonds of Public Officers; 20 Printing; 21. Joint 
Committee on Special, Private and Local Legislation. 

The House committees are appointed by the Speaker, who in doing 
this wields great power, as he appoints those whose approval generally in- 
sures the passage of a bill, and whose disapproval usually defeats it. As 
the House is so much larger than the Senate, it must to a greater extent 
than the Senate follow the recommendations of its committees. The 
House committees are as follows: 1. Privileges and Election; 2. Courts 
of Justice; 3. Schools and Colleges; 4. General Laws; 5. Roads and 
Internal Navigation; 6. Finance; 7. Claims; 8. Militia and Police; 

9. Asylums and Prisons; 10. Labor and the Poor; 11. Public 
Property; 12. Banks, Currency, and Commerce; 13. Agriculture and Min- 
ing; 14. Manufacturing and Mechanics' Arts; 15. Counties, Cities, and 
Towns; 16. Officers and Offices at the Capitol; 17. Executive Expendi- 
tures; 18. Retrenchment and Economy; 19. Federal Relations and Reso- 
lutions; 20. Enrolled Bills; 21. Immigration; 22. Chesapeake and its 
Tributaries; 23. House Expenses; 24 Rules; 25. Library; 26. Printing; 
27. Joint Committee on Special, Private and Local Legislation. 



44 THE STATE LEGISLATIVE DEPARTMENT 

amines the proposed measure in all its bearings, and 
makes a report in regard to it. This greatly expedites 
business, as each house, in legislating upon any subject, 
is influenced largely by the advice of the committee. 
There are so many of these committees that each mem- 
ber is apt to be on several. 

The Making of a Law. — A bill, which is a proposed 
law, can originate in either of the two houses, but be- 
fore becoming a law, it usually passes through the fol- 
lowing steps : It must first be introduced in one of 
the Houses, and then referred to the appropriate com-' 
mittee. It must be considered by the committee in ses- 
sion, and reported, printed by the House in which it 
originated, before it is passed, and read at length three 
times on three separate days. The first reading is for 
information, but on the second reading the bill is open 
to amendments. After the third reading, a recorded 
vote is taken, and if the bill receives a majority vote 
of those voting and present, this majority including two- 
fifths of the members elected, the bill passes, and is sent 
to the other House where it is referred to a committee 
of this House, and passes through forms of action sim- 
ilar to those described. If the bill passes both Houses, it 
is enrolled, and then signed by the presiding officers and 
sent to the governor. If approved by him, it becomes a 
law. But, if vetoed by him, it does not become a law, un- 
less each House, on reconsidering the bill, gives it a two- 
thirds vote, this vote including a majority of the members 
elected, when it becomes a law in spite of the governor's 
veto. If the governor does not return the bill within 
five days after it has been received, Sundays excepted, it 



QUESTIONS 45 

becomes a law without his signature. But, if the General 
Assembly by adjourning prevents the return of bills with- 
in the five days specified, such bills become laws if ap- 
proved by the governor within ten days after the session 
has ended, but not otherwise. It should be stated that 
appropriation bills must receive a majority vote of all the 
members elected to each House. No law, except a gen- 
eral appropriation law, or one made to meet an emer- 
gency, takes effect till ninety days after the adjournment- 
of the General Assembly. 

QUESTIONS 

i. Into what two bodies is the General Assembly divided? 

2. How are senators and delegates elected, and what is 

their term of office? 

3. Give the qualifications of a member of the General As- 

sembly. 

4. When is the General x\ssembly required to meet, and 

how long does it remain in session? 

5. What is the rule with regard to adjournment? 

6. When is the governor required to call an extra session? 

7. Where is the state capitol, and what is said of it? 

8. By whom was Richmond founded, and what of its his- 

tory? 

9. Mention some of the privileges of a member of the 

General Assembly. 

10. What salary does each member receive for a regular 

session? For an extra session? 

11. What constitutes the statute law? 

12. Mention some of the affairs it regulates. 

13. What other provisions and laws does the state make for 

the welfare of its people? 

14. What idea is conveyed by the term House of Delegates? 

15. What restrictions are put upon the General Assembly by 

the state constitution? 

16. What by the United States Constitution? 



\6 THE STATE LEGISLATIVE DEPARTMENT 

17. In what case can the Assembly exercise judicial power? 

18. How is the number of senators and delegates decided? 

19. How many members is each house required to have? 

20. Outline the proceedings for organizing each house. 

21. How is the lieutenant governor elected, and what con- 

nection has he with the Senate? 

22. What other officers are elected by the Senate? 

23. Who is the first officer elected by the House of Dele- 

gates, and what authority has he? 

24. What other officers does the House elect? Do they be- 

come members? 

25. What are the duties of the clerks of the two houses? 

26. Give the duties of the sergeants-at-arms. 

27. Why is it necessary to have standing committees, and 

how do they shorten and simplify the work of the 
General Assembly? 

28. Mention some of the Senate committees. 

29. Some of the House committees. 

30. State the process by which a bill becomes a law. 

31. What connection has the governor with it? 

32. When does a law go into operation? 



CHAPTER V 

THE STATE — EXECUTIVE DEPARTMENT 

Preparatory Work. — Who is the present governor of the 
state? Why is a governor needed, and how does he differ 
from a king? Who is the lieutenant governor? Who is the 
attorney general? What use does the state have for militia? 

Executive Officers. — The executive power of Vir- 
ginia is, by the constitution, vested mainly in a governor, 
lieutenant governor, secretary of the commonwealth, 
treasurer, and auditor. The governor and lieutenant gov- 
ernor, secretary of the commonwealth, and treasurer are 
elected * by the people, when they choose members of the 
General Assembly. They begin their duties on the first 
day of February after their election, and serve for a term 
of four years. The auditor is elected by the joint vote of 
the two Houses of the General Assembly, and serves for 
a term of four years. In addition to the above officers, 
the General Assembly has established various boards, and 
created a number of other officers to facilitate the carry- 
ing on of the executive department of the state. 

The Governor. — The governor has many powers to 

1 The first election of these officers, under the Constitution adopted in 
1902, will be held on the Tuesday after the first Monday in November, 
1905, while beginning with 1907, all senators will be elected quadrennially. 
Thus the governor and other executive officers will not be elected the 
same year with the senators. This tends to prevent any extreme of 
conservatism or of radicalism. 

47 



48 THE STATE EXECUTIVE DEPARTMENT 

exercise and duties to discharge ; but the most impor- 
tant can be classified under the following heads : 

i. He gives to the General Assembly by message at 
every session information in regard to the condition of 
the commonwealth, and recommends for its consideration 
such measures as he deems expedient for the public good. 
The information furnished to him by the heads of the 
various departments of the state in regard to agriculture, 
fisheries, railroads, asylums, educational institutions, the 
poor, the penitentiary, the military, etc., enables him to 
look after the interests of the state with a thousand eyes, 
arid from these sources his message ought to be made up. 
It is his duty to call the General Assembly together in 
extra session, when any important matter arises, which 
in his opinion demands immediate attention, or when 
two thirds of the members of both houses make applica- 
tion to him to call a meeting. 

2. He is commander in chief of the land and naval 
forces of the state, and can call out the militia to repel 
invasion, to suppress insurrection, and to enforce the 
execution of the laws. 

3. Fie has the power to grant reprieves and pardons, 
except in cases of impeachment, and to commute sen- 
tences of capital punishment. In thus exercising the 
clemency of the state, he must act under a sense of his re- 
sponsibility to public opinion and to the laws ; and he is 
required to render to the General Assembly a statement 
of his action in regard to each case. He cannot, however, 
pardon before conviction. 

4. He is charged with seeing that the laws are faith- 
fully executed. No bill can become a law without his 



THE GOVERNOR 49 

signature, unless it is passed over his veto, or is made a 
law because he does not return it, within the time al- 
lowed, to the house in which it originated. If he ap- 
proves the general purpose of a bill, but disapproves part 
of it, he may return the bill to the House in which it 
originated with recommendations for its amendment. He 
can also veto some items in an appropriation bill, and ap- 
prove others. 

5. He can, during the recess of the General Assem- 
bly, suspend from office for misbehavior, incapacity, or 
neglect of duty, all executive officers at the seat of gov- 
ernment except the lieutenant-governor, and appoint tem- 
porary successors. He is required, however, to make a 
report of such cases to the General Assembly at the be- 
ginning of the next session, and this body decides whether 
the officers thus suspended shall be restored or finally 
removed. 

6. He may require information in writing from the 
officers in the executive department, and from superin- 
tendents of state institutions, upon any subject relating 
to the duties of their respective offices. He also has the 
power to appoint officers for many of the executive de- 
partments established by the General Assembly, and 
boards for the educational and charitable institutions of 
the state. 

Xo one is eligible to the office of governor unless he 
is a citizen of the United States. Before a person of 
foreign birth can be eligible, he must have been a citizen 
of the United States for ten years immediately preceding 
the election. In addition to these acquirements, a can- 
didate, to be eligible, must be thirty years old and, for 



50 THE STATE EXECUTIVE DEPARTMENT ; 

five years immediately preceding his election, must have 
been a resident of Virginia. T"he governor receives a sal- 
ary of five thousand dollars per annum. He is author- 
ized to employ a secretary at a salary not exceeding 
twelve hundred dollars per year, and an assistant secre- 
tary at a salary not exceeding nine hundred dollars per 
year. 

The Lieutenant Governor. — This officer is elected at 
the same time and for the same term as the governor ; 
and he must have like qualifications. He is president of 
the Senate, and if the governorship becomes vacant for 
any reason, he fills the office for the remainder of the 
term. 

Secretary of the Commonwealth. — The secretary is 
the keeper of the seals of the commonwealth, and he is 
charged with the clerical duties of the Executive De- 
partment. He attests the official acts of the governor, 
records them, and lays them, with all other papers in his 
office, before either house of the General Assembly when- 
ever he is required to do so. In general, it is his duty 
to preserve all papers connected with the Executive De- 
partment, and to render to the governor such services as 
he needs in transacting executive business. He records 
in his office the charters of all companies incorporated by 
the State Corporation Commission. The law requires this 
to be done before such companies can exercise the rights 
that have been granted to them. The secretary also dis- 
tributes copies of the code of Virginia and of the Acts of 
the General x\ssembly to the officers entitled to them. 
He has likewise important duties to discharge in connec- 
tion with elections, which will be mentioned in the chap- 



THE SECOND AUDITOR 5 1 

ter on elections. He receives (1904) a salary of two 
thousand eight hundred dollars per annum. He is author- 
ized to employ clerks to assist him in his work, at a cost 
not exceeding two thousand dollars. In addition to the 
oath of office, he takes an oath to keep secret the affairs of 
state. 

The Auditor of Public Accounts. — The Auditor is the 
state accountant, and he has a wide circle of important 
duties. County and city treasurers, clerks of courts, and 
other officers account to him for taxes collected by them, 
making payment thereof into the treasury through his 
office. He also collects a large part of the state's rev- 
enues, including taxes on railroad companies, insurance 
companies, banks, telegraph and express companies. He 
audits all claims against the state, except claims for in- 
terest upon the state's obligations, and issues warrants 
upon the treasurer for those which he allows. The audi- 
tor makes an annual report to the superintendent of public 
instruction of the amount that can be applied for school 
purposes. He also reports to the governor, makes spe- 
cial reports when asked to do so, and an annual report 
containing detailed information in regard to the financial 
affairs of the commonwealth, with an estimate of the rev- 
enue and expenditures for the succeeding year. The au- 
ditor receives (1904) a salary of four thousand dollars 
per annum. He is authorized to employ a number of 
clerks to aid him in his work. 

The Second Auditor. — There is also a second auditor, 
who is elected by the joint vote of the General Assembly 
at the same time and for the same term as the auditor 
of public accounts. He keeps account of all funds paid 



52 THE STATE EXECUTIVE DEPARTMENT 

into the treasury that go to the credit of the Board of 
Education, or any corporation composed of officers of 
the government, the property of which belongs to the 
state. When claims are brought against any of the above 
corporations, he issues warrants on the treasurer for the 
payment of such of them as are allowed.. He is the ac- 
countant of all money paid into the treasury belonging to 
the sinking fund, and issues warrants for its disbursement. 
He keeps" all accounts connected with the state debt, and 
issues warrants on the treasurer for the payment of in- 
terest on it. He keeps account of the interest due to in- 
stitutions of learning, holding state securities, and draws 
upon the treasurer for its payment to the proper authori- 
ties. He receives also reports of the boards of trustees 
and visitors of state institutions of learning, including 
the report of the Miller Manual Labor School. The 
second auditor receives (1904) a salary of one thousand 
seven hundred dollars per annum and commissions al- 
lowed by law. He is aided in his work by clerks. 

The State Treasurer. — The treasurer does not re- 
ceive the state's money directly, but it is paid into some 
designated bank for the state by officers authorized to col- 
lect it. The treasurer pays it out, however, but only 
upon warrants issued by either the auditor or second audi- 
tor. From the foregoing, it is seen that neither the audi- 
tor of public accounts, nor the second auditor, nor the 
state treasurer, can, by his single act, get possession of 
money that has been paid into the state treasury. This 
arrangement is one of the checks of the government upon 
those who have charge of and keep account of the state's 
money. The treasurer makes reports to the gove' nor as 



COMMISSIONER OF AGRICULTURE AND IMMIGRATION 53 

prescribed by law, special reports when requested to make 
them, and in addition an annual report showing the condi- 
tion of the treasury. . He receives (1904) a salary of two 
thousand dollars and commissions allowed by law, and 
is assisted by several clerks. 

The Attorney- General. — At the same time that a 
governor is elected, the people elect an attorney-general, 
who is the legal adviser of the governor, of the State 
Corporation Commission, and of the officers that are at 
the seat of government. He is counsel for the state in all 
cases that come before the Supreme Court of Appeals, 
the Supreme Court of the United States, the District and 
Circuit Courts of the United States for the state of Vir- 
ginia, and the Circuit Court of Richmond. He receives 
. ( 1904) a salary of twenty-five hundred dollars per annum 
and ten cents for every mile of necessary travel on busi- 
ness for the state. 

The Commissioner of Agriculture and Immigration. 
— This officer is elected by the qualified voters of the 
state, and he serves for a term of four years. His duties, 
which are determined by the Board of Agriculture and 
Immigration, are chiefly as follows : He has charge of 
the Department of Agriculture and Immigration. His 
special work is to encourage the development of agri- 
culture and the raising of cattle and sheep ; to investigate 
the causes of the diseases of grain, fruit, and other crops, 
and to suggest remedies ; to collect information in regard 
to the mining and manufacturing interests of the state, 
with a view to fostering them ; and to give the people the 
results of his investigations in regard to all these mat- 
ters. He also has supervision of the fertilizers that are 



54 THE STATE EXECUTIVE DEPARTMENT 

offered for sale in the state. He has the different kinds 
analyzed, and forbids the sale of any that are found to be 
of no practical value. He is authorized to employ a 
clerk, a chemist, and a geologist to aid him in carrying 
on his work. It is also his duty to publish and dissem- 
inate such information in regard to the soil, climate, nat- 
ural resources, and industries of the state, as may at- 
tract capital and induce immigration. The commissioner 
receives (1904) a salary of two thousand dollars. 

The Militia. — All able-bodied men between the ages 
of eighteen and forty-five years, except such as are ex- 
empt by the law, are subject to military service, and con- 
stitute the reserve militia, but are not required to muster 
in time of peace. The active militia is formed of the 
Virginia volunteers. These consist in time of peace of 
not more than sixty companies of infantry, eight bat- 
talions of artillery and ten troops of cavalry. The vol- 
unteers are first ordered to take the field when any 
emergency arises. The governor as commander in chief 
of the militia commissions the officers. The adjutant- 
general is chief of the governor's staff, and is his military 
executive officer. 

State Corporation Commission. — This important 
Commission consists of three members who are appointed 
by the governor, subject to the confirmation of the Gen- 
eral Assembly. The members hold office for six years, 
but their terms are arranged so as to expire two years 
apart. Their salaries are fixed by the General Assembly, 
but no commissioner is to receive less than four thousand 
dollars per annum. One of the members of the Commis- 
sion must have the qualifications prescribed for a judge 



STATE CORPORATION COMMISSION 55 

of the Supreme Court of Appeals. This body has many 
very important duties to discharge, most of which are 
executive in character, but some are legislative and some 
judicial. It has the power to grant and amend charters 
of all kinds under general laws enacted by the Legisla- 
ture. Thus a person can at any time find out from the 
Commission what kind of corporate powers he may ob- 
tain in Virginia, and secure at trifling expense any kind 
of charter allowed by law. 

The Commission has authority to supervise and control 
all transportation and transmission companies, such as 
railroad companies, telegraph companies, etc., in all mat- 
ters connected with the performance of their public 
duties. It can at any time inspect their books, and pre- 
scribe such rates, charges, classification of traffic, rules 
and regulations as may be reasonable and just, so that 
such companies cannot use the great powers entrusted to 
them by the state -to the injury of the people. All cor- 
porations chartered by the state are required to register 
annually with the Commission and to send in reports 
showing their condition. Whenever corporations propose 
to issue stock, or bonds, they must make a statement to 
the Commission, explaining the basis or financial plan 
upon which such stock or bonds are to be issued. 

The Commission takes care of the fund for internal im- 
provements, and looks after the interests of the state in 
many other ways. It also exercises a general supervision 
over companies chartered to carry on works of internal 
improvement ; keeps a register of all state property ; pre- 
scribes tolls for any canal, navigation, or bridge company 
whose charter does not fix them ; assesses the value of all 



56 THE STATE EXECUTIVE DEPARTMENT 

railroad and canal property in the state for taxation, and 
makes agreements with the state depositories in regard to 
the interest to be allowed the state for money kept on 
deposit. 

The Corporation Commission is one of the most useful 
and important departments of the state government. 
Through it ample provision is made for preserving the 
rights of the people ; and, at the same time, corporations 
can protect themselves from possible injustice by taking 
appeals from decisions of the Commission to the Su- 
preme Court. 

Other Executive Departments and Officers. — The 
executive officers of the state are assisted in carrying on 
the government by various administrative officers, com- 
missioners, and boards, which have been from time to time 
created. The following list includes the most important 
of these : — 

( 1 ) Superintendent of Public Printing. — Elected by 
the General Assembly. Term of office, four years. 

(2) Superintendent of the Penitentiary. — Appointed 
by the Board of Directors of the Penitentiary. Term of 
office, four years. 

( 3 ) State Assay er and Chemist. — Appointed by the 
governor. Term of office, not limited. 

(4) Commissioners of the Sinking Fund. — These are 
the treasurer, the auditor of public accounts, and the 
second auditor. 

(5) Tobacco Samplers. — Two for each public ware- 
house. Appointed by the governor with the concur- 
rence of the Senate. Term of office, four years. 

(6) Inspectors of Oysters. — Appointed by the Board 



OTHER EXECUTIVE DEPARTMENTS 57 

of Fisheries in the counties where oysters are caught or 
planted, as many for each county as are necessary. Term 
of office two years. 

(7) Inspectors of Cattle. — Eight of these are ap- 
pointed by! the governor, one to live during his term of 
office at the town of Goodson, one at Patrick C. H., one 
at Danville, one at Norfolk or Portsmouth, one at Boykin 
Depot, one at Hicksford, one at Covington, and one at 
Cumberland Gap. Term of office, two years. 

(8) ~ Inspectors of Various Articles. — The governor 
has authority to appoint annually in counties, cities, and 
towns where such officers are needed, inspectors of flour, 
corn, meal, bread, salt, fish, pork, beef, pitch, turpentine, 
lumber, hemp, butter, and lard. 

(9) Board of Fisheries. — Appointed by the Governor. 
Five members. Term of office four years. 

(10) State Board of Health. — Seven members. Ap- 
pointed by the governor. Term of office, four years. 

(11) Board of Pharmacy. — Five members. Ap- 
pointed by the governor. Examines persons who wish 
to retail, compound, or dispense medicines or poisons, and 
issues certificates to such as are found to be competent. 
Term of office, five years. 

(12) Board of Dental Examiners. — Six members. 
Appointed by the governor. Examines persons who wish 
to practice dentistry, and issues certificates to such as are 
found to be competent. Each member serves three years, 
but all do not go out of office at the same time. 

(13) Board of Medical Examiners. — Composed of 
three members from each congressional district, two from 
the state at large, and five homeopathic physicians from 



58 THE STATE EXECUTIVE DEPARTMENT 

the state at large. Term of office, four years. Examines 
persons who wish to practice medicine and surgery, and 
issues certificates to such candidates as are found to be 
competent. 

(14) State Board of Agriculture and Immigration. — 
Ten members, one from each congressional district. Each 
must be a practical farmer. Appointed by the governor 
subject to confirmation by the Senate. Term of office, 
four years. The president of the Virginia Polytechnic 
Institute is ex officio a member of this board. This board 
has control of the Department of Agriculture. 

(15) Prison Association. — Incorporated by the Gen- 
eral Assembly for the purpose of improving the govern- 
ment, discipline, and general management of prisons 
within the state ; to better the condition of prisoners ; and 
to encourage and aid discharged convicts who show a 
desire to reform. 

(16) Board of Directors of the Penitentiary. — Five 
members appointed by the Governor, subject to confirma- 
tion by the Senate. Each member serves five years, but 
the terms of office are arranged so that one member goes 
out each year. This board governs and controls the pen- 
itentiary, branch prisons, and prison farms, and appoints 
superintendents, surgeons, etc. 

No Free Passes. — All public officers, state, county, 
district and municipal are prohibited, under the penalty 
of the forfeiture of their offices, to use free railroad passes, 
or telegraph and telephone franks. Also companies that 
give public officers passes or franks are subject to such 
penalties as may be prescribed by the General Assembly. 



QUESTIONS 59 

QUESTIONS 

i. What officers form the main executive power of the 
state ? 

2. By whom are the governor, lieutenant governor, secre- 

tary of the commonwealth, and treasurer elected, and 
what is their term of office? 

3. How are the other state officers elected, when do they 

begin their duties, and what is their term of office? 

4. Mention some of the powers exercised by the governor, 

and some of the duties which he discharges. 

5. What qualifications must a man have in order to be a 

candidate for governor? 

6. What are the qualifications and duties of the lieutenant 

governor? 

7. What are the chief duties of the secretary of the com- 

monwealth? 

8. The auditor of public accounts? 

9. The second auditor? 
10. The state treasurer? 

n. The commissioner of agriculture and immigration? 

12. What men are subject to military service? 

13. Of what does the active militia consist? 

14. Who are first ordered out in time of war, and who is 

the commander? 

15. How are the members of the State Corporation Com- 

mission appointed? 

16. What are the chief duties of this Commission? 
,17. Mention some of the other executive officers. 

18. How are they appointed, and what is their term of 

office? 

19. What restriction is placed upon the use of free passes 

by public officers? 



CHAPTER VI 

THE STATE— JUDICIAL DEPARTMENT 

Preparatory Work. — - Have you ever seen a court in ses- 
sion? Who acted as judge? What courts meet in your 
town, city, or county? Give the name of a judge who pre- 
sides over one of these courts? What cases are tried by a 
justice of the peace? 

A Judicial Power Necessary. — In the various deal- 
ings which men have with one another differences are 
continually arising-, and wrong deeds are frequently done. 
For this reason, any complete form of government must 
have some power to decide disputes, to award justice, and 
to punish crime. These objects are effected by what is 
called the judicial power, which, if properly exercised, in- 
sures to the citizen protection and security in the enjoy- 
ment of his rights. 

The Courts. — The judicial power is vested in the 
courts, which may be defined as organized bodies, to 
which are committed the interpretation of the laws and 
the administration of justice, as applied to each particu- 
lar case coming before them. A court may consist of one 
judge, of a judge and a jury, or of several judges; but, 
in transacting its business, it is assisted by attorneys, 
clerks, sheriffs, and constables. The courts of Virginia 
are divided into three grades, the justice's court, the cir- 
cuit court, and the supreme court of appeals. 

60 



JURISDICTION 6 1 

A Case at Law. — Any case that comes before a court 
for hearing and decision is called an action at law or a 
suit in chancery. Cases are called either civil or crim- 
inal, according to their nature, civil cases being those 
that take place between private persons on account of debt, 
the violation of a contract, or because of some injury to 
person or property, while criminal cases are those in 
which the state seeks to punish persons who commit 
crimes. Civil cases are of many kinds, but crimes are 
either misdemeanors, that is, offenses punishable by fine, 
by imprisonment in jail, or by both, or they are felonies, 
that is, offenses punishable by imprisonment in the state 
penitentiary or by death. In civil cases, the party who 
brings the suit is called the plaintiff, and the party against 
whom the suit is brought is called the defendant. In 
criminal cases, the state is the plaintiff, the act being an 
offense against the state, and the accused is called the de- 
fendant or the prisoner. 

Jurisdiction. — Each court has power to pronounce the 
law in certain specified classes of cases, and in certain 
territorial limits, and these constitute what is known as 
its jurisdiction 1 or right to decide. The law prescribes 
the limits within which each court may act. A brief ex- 
planation will make this plain. 



1 A court has original jurisdiction when a case may be commenced in 
it, and appellate jurisdiction when it has a right to hear a case on appeal 
from a lower court. Two courts have concurrent jurisdiction in cases where 
either court may try them. In suits between citizens of different states, in 
such as involve points of United States law, and in those to which foreign 
ambassadors are parties, the cause can be brought in the United States 
courts or the defendant can elect to remove it to one of these courts. Ex- 
cept in cases like these, the Virginia courts form a complete sys'.em 
adequate for the trial of all causes. 



62 THE STATE JUDICIAL DEPARTMENT 

i. Jurisdiction depends upon the nature of the ques- 
tion to be decided. For example, one court has the right 
to try cases of misdemeanor, a second to try cases of 
felony, and a third to try civil cases involving three hun- 
dred dollars or more. 

2. Jurisdiction depends also upon locality. Except 
in the case of the court of appeals, the jurisdiction of 
each court is confined, with few exceptions, to the limits 
of the circuit or city for which the court is appointed, for 
it is a maxim of English law that justice must be brought 
to every man's door. Even the judge of a circuit em- 
bracing several counties, cannot ordinarily hear a cause 
in any county of his circuit except the one in which it 
arises. 

3. Jurisdiction depends likewise upon the process. 
Process here means notice. A principle which governs all 
criminal and civil procedure is that no one can be de- 
prived of his life, liberty, or property without due pro- 
cess 1 of law. Accordingly, no court has the right to 
decide any matter unless the parties interested have had 
an opportunity to be heard. The jurisdiction of each 
court will now be defined. 

The Justice's Court. — The office of justice of the 
peace is of great antiquity, having originated in England 
in the reign of Edward III. In addition to being a con- 
servator of the peace, the justice holds the court of 
lowest grade in the state. He has power to try all per- 
sons who are charged with committing offenses classed as 

1 " Due process " is a method of procedure " which, following the forms 
of law, is appropriate to the case, and just to the parties to be affected." 



THE JUSTICE'S COURT 63 

misdemeanors, and also to try civil cases 1 involving as 
large an amount as one hundred dollars, exclusive of 
interest. But, in civil cases it is provided by law that 
when the amount or thing in controversy exceeds twenty 
dollars, the defendant can at any time before the trial 
have the case removed to the circuit court. This pro- 
vision is made because there is no jury in the justice's 
court, and the Constitution of the United States guaran- 
tees the right of trial by jury when the amount in con- 
troversy is greater than twenty dollars. 

Appeals from the court of a justice are heard by the 
circuit court. 2 

One justice can get one or even two other justices to 
hear a case with him as associates. If two try a case, 
the opinion of the justice who has charge of the court 
prevails if there is a disagreement. But if three hear a 
case, the opinion of a majority prevails. 

It is the duty of a justice to issue a warrant for the 
arrest of any one who has committed felony, and, after 
holding a preliminary examination, to have the accused 
person put into prison till he can be indicted by the grand 
jury and brought to trial in the circuit court. If -a per- 
son is charged with felony, and the justice finds on ex- 



1 If, however, the claim is to a fine, the justice cannot try the case if it 
involves more than twenty dollars. 

2 Appeals in misdemeanor cases and in civil cases also from the courts 
of the justices are heard by the circuit courts. Appeals cannot be taken, 
however, in all small cases. The law is, if a justice has given judgment 
in a case which involves the constitutionality or validity of an ordinance 
or of a by-law of a corporation, or where the matter in controversy is, 
exclusive of interest, of greater value than ten dollars, the defendant can 
within ten days take an appeal to the circuit court. If he does this, 
however, he must give security for the payment of the judgment, if it 
should be confirmed, and of all costs and damages. 



64 THE STATE JUDICIAL DEPARTMENT 

animation that there is but a light suspicion of guilt, he 
can release the accused on bail till he can be brought to 
trial. 

1 he Circuit Court. — Virginia is divided into twenty- 
four judicial circuits, for each one of which a judge is 
elected by the joint vote of the two houses of the General 
Assembly. These judges are commissioned by the Gov- 
ernor, and enter upon their duties on the first day of 
February after their election. They serve for eight years, 
but their terms are arranged so as to expire at different 
times, one fourth of the number going out of office every 
two years. Each judge holds a court called a circuit 
court, which meets in each county and city of the cir- 
cuit as often as business interests may require, the num- 
ber of sessions being fixed by the Legislature. A circuit 
judge receives a salary of not less than two thousand dol- 
lars per annum, one half of which is paid by the State, 
and the other half by the counties and cities composing 
the circuit. 

The circuit court has authority to try all persons who 
are charged with offenses sufficiently grave to be classed 
as felony, and is thus the main criminal court of the state. 
It is also the main civil and chancery 1 court. All civil 
cases involving one hundred dollars or more must be 
commenced in this court, and civil cases involving from 
twenty dollars to one hundred dollars can be begun 
in it as well as in the justice's court. The circuit court has 

1 A chancery court is one possessing power to grant the kind of relief 
demanded in any case by natural justice between man and man. It can 
for example compel a man to perform a contract instead of paying dam- 
ages for not doing as he promised. So, also, it can restrain a man from 
doing an unlawful act, grant relief against fraud, etc. The circuit court is 
a court of law and equity and administers both. 



THE SUPREME COURT OF APPEALS 65 

power to try all chancery cases, and it has jurisdiction 
over the proving of wills, the appointment of executors, 
administrators, guardians, etc. 

The clerk of the circuit court has authority at any time 
in his office, whether the court is in session or not, to 
appoint personal representatives, guardians, appraisers 
of estates, etc. 

Actions involving title to real estate, and actions against 
persons, who hold unlawful possession of real estate be- 
longing to others are brought in this court. 

The circuit court hears appeals from the courts of 
the justices in misdemeanor cases, and also in civil cases 
where the amount involved is, exclusive of interest, more 
than ten dollars. It also hears appeals from decisions of 
boards of supervisors if the claim exceeds ten dollars. 

As a rule misdemeanor cases cannot be commenced 
in the circuit court. 1 

The Supreme Court of Appeals. — This court is com- 
posed of five judges, distinguished for ability and knowl- 
edge, who are elected for a term of twelve years by the 
joint vote of the two houses of the General Assembly. 

1 There are some exceptions to this general rule — Misdemeanor cases, 
involving the following offenses, can originate in circuit courts as well as 
in courts of justices; 1. Violations of the revenue laws of the State; 
2. Offenses against public policy (such offenses as keeping faro banks, 
selling lottery tickets, etc.); 3. A few offenses against morality (such as the 
unnecessary unloading of freight cars on Sunday, or the transportation 
of freight cars that do not contain perishable articles, the selling of 
intoxicating liquors on Sunday, etc.). 

The law also provides that if a person charged with one of the above 
named offenses, is tried by a justice and convicted, he can at any time 
within ten days appeal to the circuit court. Then, if the warrant, when it 
is tried in the circuit court, be found defective, the court can, upon 
its own motion, or upon the request of the attorney for the common- 
wealth, or for the accused, amend it, or the judge can issue a new warrant 
if the old one is so defective as to render this necessary. 



66 THE STATE JUDICIAL DEPARTMENT 

Their terms are arranged so that all will not go out of 
office at the same time. Each judge receives a salary of 
not less than four thousand dollars per annum, which is 
paid by the state. The judges appoint one of their num- 
ber president of the court, and select another who is re- 
quired by law to reside at the seat of government. Any 
three of the judges may hold a court. 

The great business of this court is to hear appeals x from 
the lower courts. It possesses the highest judicial power, 
and it is the court of last resort, in the state, to which 
appeals can be carried. 

City Courts. — Every city with ten thousand inhabit- 
ants or more has, in addition to the circuit court, a cor- 
poration court ; and, for cities with thirty thousand inhab- 
itants or more, the Legislature is authorized to provide 
such additional courts as may be needed. Cities 2 of less 
than ten thousand inhabitants that have no corporation 
courts come within the jurisdiction of the circuit courts" 

1 The supreme court of appeals has appellate jurisdiction only, except 
in cases of habeas corpus, mandamus, and prohibition. It does not have 
jurisdiction in civil cases where the matter in controversy, exclusive of 
costs and interest is less in value or amount than three hundred dollars, 
except in controversies concerning the title to, or boundaries of land, 
the condemnation of property, the probate of a will, the appointment or 
qualification of a personal representative, guardian, committee, or curator, 
or concerning a mill, roadway, ferry, or landing; or the right of the 
State, county, or municipal corporation to levy tolls or taxes, or involving 
the construction of any statute, ordinance or county proceedings imposing 
taxes; and except in cases of habeas corpus, mandamus, and prohibition, 
the constitutionality of a law, or some other matter not merely pecuniary. 
The assent of at least three of the judges is required for the court to 
determine that any law is, or is not, repugnant to the Constitution of 
this State or of the United States. 

2 Cities with less than ten thousand inhabitants that have city courts, 
established under the old constitution, can now abolish them by a majority 
vote of their qualified electors. While such courts exist, they have concur- 
rent jurisdiction with the circuit courts of the counties in which the cities 
are situated. 



QUESTIONS 67 

of their respective counties. For Richmond, there is a 
special system of courts, which embraces a circuit, a chan- 
cery, a hustings, and a law and equity court. 

QUESTIONS 

1. Why is it necessary that government should have a 

judicial department? 

2. What are courts, and of what do they consist? 

3. Into what three grades are the courts of Virginia di- 

vided? 

4. What is the term applied to any case at law? 

5. What is the difference between a civil case and a 

criminal case? 

6. What is the difference between a misdemeanor and a 

felony? 

7. Who is the plaintiff, and who is the defendant in a civil 

case? 

8. In a criminal case? 

9. What is meant by the jurisdiction of a court? 

10. What three limitations are placed upon 'jurisdiction? 

11. What is the difference between original jurisdiction and 

appellate jurisdiction? When do courts have concur- 
rent jurisdiction? 

12. Where did the office of justice of the peace originate? 

13. What criminal cases can the justice try? 

14. What civil cases? 

15. What is the duty of the justice in regard to persons who 

commit felony? 

16. What is a circuit court? 

17. W r hat is a chancery court? 

18. What civil cases must be commenced in the circuit court, 

and what cases may be there commenced? 

19. Over what criminal cases does the circuit court have 

jurisdiction? 

20. What appeals does the circuit court hear? 

21. How many judges compose the supreme court of ap- 

peals, for what are they distinguished, and how long 
do they serve? 



68 THE STATE JUDICIAL DEPARTMENT 

22. How is the president of this court appointed, and what 

are the salaries received? 

23. What is the chief duty of the supreme court of appeals? 

24. What is said of the jurisdiction of the supreme court of 

appeals ? 

25. What courts do cities have? 

26. What courts have been established for Richmond? 



CHAPTER VII 

LEGAL PROCEEDINGS 

Duty of a Court. — A court when called on to exercise 
its judicial functions has a twofold duty to discharge, — 
to find out what the law is and what the truth is. It falls 
to the judge (or judges, if the court has more than one J 
to determine what the law is, and in some cases to decide 
also what the evidence proves in regard to the facts ; but 
in many cases the evidence is submitted to a number of 
men called jurors, who are sworn to deliver the truth 
as proved by the evidence bearing upon the case. 

Juries. — The word juror means one who has sworn. 
The grand jury is a body of citizens, sworn to present or 
charge persons who are known, or who can be proved, to 
have committed crimes, and to bring them to trial. The 
accusation made against a person who commits a crime 
is called an indictment. A petit jury in a criminal case is 
a body of citizens sworn to try the accusation which the 
grand jury has brought. The grand jury has nothing to 
do with civil cases. A petit jury in a civil case is sworn 
to decide the issue truly. 

How Grand Juries are Obtained. — A regular grand 
jury is summoned every year at two terms of each circuit 
corporation, and hustings court. A grand jury is obtained 
in the following manner : The judge of each of the courts 
named above, every year, in the month of June, July or 

69 



yO LEGAL PROCEEDINGS 

August, makes out a list of forty-eight citizens, in every 
way qualified to act as grand jurors, apportioning them 
as far as possible, according to population among the 
magisterial districts of the counties and wards of the cities. 
Not more than twenty days before a term of the court, 
at which a regular grand jury will be required, the 
clerk of the court has twelve of the persons selected by 
the judge summoned to serve as grand jurors. No one 
of the forty-eight persons is required to serve as a grand 
juror more than once, till all the others have been sum- 
moned once; nor must he serve more than twice, till all 
the others have been summoned twice. Special grand 
juries can be ordered by the judge of the court when he 
deems it necessary. A regular grand jury consists of not 
less than nine nor more than twelve jurors ; and a special 
grand jury of not less than six nor more than nine. At 
least seven jurors of a regular grand jury and five of a 
special grand jury must concur in making an indictment 
or presentment. 

Trial Juries for Civil Cases. — Juries to decide dis- 
puted facts in any case are called trial or petit juries. For 
the trial of civil cases, such juries are obtained as follows : 
Every year the judge of each circuit and corporation 
court, between the first of January and the first of July, 
makes out a list of persons well qualified to serve as ju- 
rors, numbering from one hundred to three hundred/ ac- 
cording to the population of the county or corporation. 
These names are put in a box, each written on a separate 
ballot. Then at least ten days before the term of any 

1 In the courts for the cities of Richmond and Norfolk, the number may 
be as large as six hundred. 



TRIAL JURIES 7 1 

court when a jury will be needed, the clerk selects by lot 
from the box the names of seven persons, and has them 
summoned to serve as jurors. If any person who has 
been selected fails to attend by reason of sickness, absence 
from home, or other cause, or if he cannot serve on ac^" 
count of objections made to him, another juror is selected 
by lot to take his place. No person who has served as 
a juror is called on to serve again during the same year 
till all the persons whose names are in the box have 
been drawn to serve. 

In a civil suit, the jury consists of five in such cases as 
a justice of the peace would have power to try, and of 
seven in cases too grave for a justice to decide. The law 
also provides that, in any civil case, with the consent of 
both plaintiff and defendant, the jury may consist of only 
three. One of these is selected by the plaintiff, another 
by the defendant, and the two thus chosen select the third. 
Trial by jury may also be waived altogether with the con- 
sent of both parties. If a jury is not employed, the whole 
matter of law and of fact is determined by the court, 
which then renders judgment. 

Trial Juries for Misdemeanor Cases. — In misde- 
meanor cases, juries when employed consist of twelve, 
and are obtained in the same manner as trial juries for 
civil cases. In these cases, if the accused person pleads 
guilty, and both he and the commonwealth's attorney 
agree to dispense with a jury, then the trial is conducted 
without one. If the accused pleads not guilty, and both 
he and the commonwealth's attorney consent to dispense 
with a jury, then it is left to the discretion of the court 
to decide whether one shall be employed or not. 



J2 LEGAL PROCEEDINGS 

Trial Juries for Felony Cases. — In a felony case, a 
jury is obtained in the following manner: The judge 
of the circuit or corporation court where the trial is to 
take place, makes out a list of persons residing in the 
county or corporation, and from this list sixteen persons, 
living remote from the place where the crime was com- 
mitted, and qualified in other respects to serve as jurors, 
are summoned to attend court. The commonwealth is 
not allowed to challenge a juror except for cause, but if 
objection is made to a juror and it is sustained by the 
court, another juror is put in his place. After sixteen 
persons, free from objection, have been obtained, the 
accused person is allowed to strike off four, and the re- 
maining twelve constitute the jury to try the case. If 
the accused strikes off less than four, or if he declines to 
strike off any, twelve are selected by lot. 

In a felony case, if the accused pleads guilty, and both 
he and the commonwealth's attorney consent to dispense 
with a jury, then the trial is conducted without one. 

i. Proceedings in Civil Cases. 
Ordinary Civil Cases. — Trials between individuals 
may take place for the purpose of establishing a right 
depending on one or more simple facts. For example, 
the object may be to determine whether a debt is due, 
whether damage has been sustained, or whether one man 
unlawfully holds possession of houses, lands or some 
other property belonging to another. Such cases as these 
give rise to ordinary civil suits, or to what are known 
as common law 1 actions. 

1 The common law consists of rules of action which long usage and cus- 
tom have rendered binding, and for this reason it is said to be " founded 



THE TRIAL 73 

First Proceedings in Ordinary Civil Cases. — The 

case is began by the plaintiff, who files with the clerk of 
the circuit court a memorandum giving the names of the 
plaintiff and the defendant and explaining the character 
of the suit. Thereupon the clerk has the defendant sum- 
moned to appear at a certain day, known as a " rule day," 
to make answer to a written statement, called a declara- 
tion, which the plaintiff is required by law to file to ex- 
plain the cause of his suit. The plaintiff must file the 
declaration within a month after the defendant has been 
summoned. After this has been done, the defendant 
must file a plea either at rule day or at the term of 
the court following, if he wishes to protect his interests. 1 
The Trial. — The declaration and the plea having been 
filed, the trial usually takes place at some future day of 
the court. The judge presides ; and unless both parties 
are willing to submit all questions to the court, a jury is 
secured to try the case. The counsel for the plaintiff tells 
briefly what the case is about, and what he expects to 
prove. The counsel for the defendant follows with a 
statement in behalf of his client. After this the witnesses 
are examined and cross-examined ; and then usually the 



in reason and in the principles of justice." It is frequently called the un- 
written law, while the statutes passed by legislatures are called the written 
law. The common law of Virginia, and indeed of all the states except 
Louisiana, is based upon the common law of England, which the first 
settlers brought with them to America. 

1 Another Method of Preliminary Procedure. — By a recent statute, 
instead of following the method above indicated, any one may proceed in 
many cases at common law by notifying the defendant that on the first 
day of the next term of court he will move for judgment. The notice is 
served by the sheriff just as the summons was. It takes the place of the 
declaration, etc., and enables the parties to avoid the rule day, or proceed- 
ings at rules, as it is called. At the time fixed the trial takes place in the 
usual way. 



74 LEGAL PROCEEDINGS 

jury is asked to retire while instructions to be given in 
regard to the case are being discussed. The attorneys 
for each side write out instructions which they request 
the judge to give to the jury. This part of the proceed- 
ings being completed, the judge gives to the jury instruc- 
tions, in which he states the law bearing upon the case. 
The case is next argued to the jury by the respective 
attorneys. The arguments that are usually presented show 
the inconsistencies of the opposite side of the case or dwell 
upon the credibility of one witness as against another. 
The jury then retires to consider the case in secret. If 
the jurymen cannot agree, they are discharged and the 
case may be tried again. But if they all agree, they re- 
turn a verdict for the plaintiff or for the defendant. The 
court is often asked to set aside the verdict and grant a 
new trial. If it refuses, the clerk enters the judgment, 
which the court signs. 

Chancery Proceedings. — In chancery cases, the pro- 
ceedings are similar to those at common law. The sum- 
mons is called a subpoena, 1 and the bill in chancery takes 
the place of the declaration at common law, and the 
answer takes the place of the plea. The testimony at 
common law is generally oral, and is taken at the trial, 
but in chancery it is taken in depositions, which consist 
of written questions by the attorneys and written answers 
by the witnesses. Usually there is no jury, the court 
deciding all questions both of law and of fact, but in a 
contest in regard to a will the court orders a jury. 



1 In chancery practice a subpoena is a mandatory writ directed to a per- 
son and requiring him to appear and answer the matters charged against 
him. 



THE DETECTION OF CRIMES 75 

There are other methods of court procedure in the ad- 
ministration of justice between man and man which can- 
not be described in a work like this. Courts are called 
on for many objects and the proceedings differ in differ- 
ent classes of cases. In all cases, however, the court must 
give each party an opportunity to be heard in order that 
he may correct false statements made by others. 

2. Proceedings in Criminal Cases. 

The Prevention of Crimes. — It is the duty of every 
justice of the peace, constable, sheriff, notary, and indeed 
of every citizen who knows that a crime is about to be 
committed to give notice of it, and to have the person 
who threatens to do the wrong deed arrested. A person 
taken into custody upon a charge of this kind is required, 
if the justice thinks proper, to give bond and security for 
his good behavior ; and if he fails to do this, he is sent to 
jail. 

The Detection of Crimes. — But notwithstanding all 
precautions, crimes will be committed, and for their de- 
tection each county and city has its grand jury, the 
members of which are selected from different parts of 
the county or city, and so are apt to .hear of serious of- 
fenses. When a grand jury is summoned, the judge in- 
structs the jurors in regard to offenses that should be 
indicted. There are many statutes requiring him to 
charge them as to particular offenses. 

It is the duty of every justice of the peace to cause 
the arrest and imprisonment of criminals, and to send the 
witnesses against them before the grand jury that they 
may be charged with their crimes. It is also the duty 



j6 LEGAL PROCEEDINGS 

of every citizen who knows that felony has been com- 
mitted, to appear before the grand jury and make accusa- 
tion against the guilty person. Any person who aids a 
felon in escaping from the law thereby renders himself 
liable to punishment. Thus the system for the discovery 
of crimes is very complete ; and when it fails, if the crime 
is an outrageous one, the governor may offer a reward 
for its detection. 

Before a Justice. — After a man has been arrested on 
the charge of committing a crime, he is taken before a 
justice of the peace. If the offense is a misdemeanor, the 
justice tries the case, and discharges, fines, or imprisons 
the accused as the law prescribes. If a man is arrested for 
felony, he is also taken before a justice of the peace, and 
if he is shown to be innocent, the justice discharges him. 
But if he is not shown to be innocent, the justice releases 
him on bail or sends him to jail till he can be brought to 
trial before the circuit or corporation court. 

Indictment for Felony. — No man can be tried for 
felony till he has been indicted by the grand jury. The 
indictment is the charge against the accused person, writ- 
ten out with full particulars. It is drawn up by the 
commonwealth's attorney, who gives it to the grand jury. 
Witnesses in support of the accusation appear before the 
grand jury, and, after being sworn, give in their testi- 
mony. If the grand jury then thinks that the charges in 
the indictment are well founded, and the evidence prob- 
ably sufficient to prove them, " a true bill " is indorsed 
on the indictment. If the grand jury thinks that the evi- 
dence is insufficient to establish the charges, " not a true 
bill " is indorsed on the indictment. But the fact that the 



TRIAL FOR FELONY JJ 

grand jury has found " not a true bill " does not prevent 
the finding of " a true bill " at some future time, if other 
evidence should be discovered. 

Trial for Felony. — After a man has been indicted and 
has received due notice, he is brought into court for trial, 
and no steps can be taken in the trial in his absence. The 
commonwealth's attorney conducts the prosecution ; and if 
the accused is unable to secure an attorney for his own 
defense, the court may assign counsel to represent him. 
When the prisoner is arraigned, he is ordered to stand 
up and the indictment is read to him. This being done, 
he is asked whether he is guilty or not guilty as charged 
in the indictment. If he pleads " not guilty," the wit- 
nesses for and against him are examined and cross-ex- 
amined, and he is allowed to testify in his own behalf. 
The case is then argued by the attorneys, and the judge 
delivers to the jurors instructions in regard to the prin- 
ciples that should govern them in reaching a decision. 
If the jury renders a verdict of " not guilty," the court so 
informs the prisoner and he is released. But if the ver- 
dict is " guilty," the judge sentences the prisoner to the 
penitentiary or to be hanged, as the case may be. 

If the accused pleads guilty, the judge on motion of 
either the counsel for the defense or of the counsel for 
the prosecution, decides whether or not the witnesses shall 
be examined. The judge can, however, have the witnesses 
examined anyway if he wishes to have this done. This 
part of the proceedings being over, the counsel for the 
accused usually makes an appeal to the jury, asking them 
to show as much leniency as the law will allow in render- 
ing their verdict. 



78 



LEGAL PROCEEDINGS 



Habeas Corpus. — If a person under arrest thinks that 
he is unlawfully imprisoned, he or any one interested in 
his case may apply to the judge of any corporation, 
or circuit court for a writ of habeas corpus. This 
is an order commanding the sheriff to bring the accused 
person into court so that the cause of his arrest may 
be investigated. The judge looks into the matter, and if 
he finds that the prisoner's arrest was unlawful, he re- 
leases him. This writ applies not only to prisoners under 
arrest, but also to cases where a person is unlawfully de- 
tained by another. For example, a father can use it to 
get possession of a child that is held, contrary to law, 
by another person. 

The writ of habeas corpus had its origin in England at 
an early date, and is regarded as one of the most im- 
portant writs in law, for it protects a man's right of 
personal liberty by providing for an examination, by 
competent authority, of the ground of his arrest or de- 
tention. 



QUESTIONS 

What twofold duty has a court to discharge? 

Who determines what the law is in any case, and who 
usually decides what the evidence proves? 

What does the word juror mean? 

What is a grand jury? What a petit jury? 

How are grand juries obtained? 

How are juries obtained to try civil cases? Misde- 
meanor cases? 

How are juries obtained to try felony cases? 

How do ordinary civil cases arise? 

What is meant by the common law? 

What are the first proceedings in civil cases? 

Give a brief outline of the trial in such cases. 



QUESTIONS 79 

12. What is said of chancery proceedings? 

13. What are depositions? 

14. What is the duty of every officer, and of every citizen 

who knows that a crime is about to be committed? 

15. How does every county or city provide for the detection 

of crimes? 

16. What instructions does the judge give the grand jury? 

17. What action should every justice of the peace take in 

order to bring criminals to justice? 

18. What is the duty of a citizen who knows of a crime? 

19. Before whom is a man arrested for crime first taken? 

20. What does the justice do if the charge is for a mis- 

demeanor? What for a felony? 
21: What is an indictment, and who draws it up? 

22. What action does the grand jury take in regard to an in- 

dictment? 

23. Give a brief outline of a trial for felony. 

24. If a person is unlawfully imprisoned, what can he do? 

25. What is the writ of habeas corpus? 

26. Where did it originate, and how is it regarded?- 



CHAPTER VIII 
THE PUBLIC SCHOOL SYSTEM 

Preparatory Work. — Who teaches the public school in 
your neighborhood? What is the difference between a pub- 
lic school and a private school? Give the name of the su- 
perintendent of schools in your division or city, and tell 
whether he is appointed or elected. Who are the members 
of the board of school trustees in your district? How are 
positions to teach in the public school system secured? 

History of Popular Education. — In 1796 the General 
Assembly enacted into a law the part of a bill proposed b> 
Mr. Jefferson which provided for establishing and sup- 
porting elementary schools. But it was left to the 
county courts of that clay to decide for their respec- 
tive counties whether or not the law should go into effect ; 
and this condition practically annulled the measure, for 
not a single county court decided in favor of putting it 
into operation. In 1810 the Literary Fund 1 was formed, 
and the revenue from this was devoted exclusively to the 
education of poor white children till 181 7, when under 
the influence of Mr. Jefferson a part of it, fifteen thousand 

1 The Literary Fund was formed from the proceeds of confiscations, 
escheats, sale of glebe lands belonging, to the former colonial church, 
forfeitures, fines, etc. The fund was afterwards further increased by 
money received from the Federal government. In 1861 it amounted to 
$2,260,000. In 1896 the fund aggregated $2,275,649.28. 

The law by which the University of Virginia was founded was, through 
the influence of Thomas Jefferson, passed by the General Assembly in 1819. 

80 



THE STATE BOARD OF EDUCATION OT 

dollars, was set aside annually for the permanent endow- 
ment of a university. After this, the remainder of the 
interest of the Literary Fund was applied to the educa- 
tion of poor white children ; but the funds provided were 
insufficient for the needs of even this class. No adequate 
provision was made for public education till the adoption 
of the constitution of 1869, which required the General 
Assembly to establish a uniform system of public free 
schools. This was done during the session of 1869-70. 
The system, after it had been put into operation, grew 
rapidly in favor, and under its influence the percentage of 
illiteracy has been gradually diminishing. 

Organization of the Public School System. — The 
state is divfded by the Board of Education into appro- 
priate sections, called school divisions. These consist of 
not less than one county or city each. Two or more 
counties may be combined so as to form one division, but 
no county or city is to be divided so that part of it will 
be in one school division and part in another. Each mag- 
isterial district constitutes a separate school district, un- 
less otherwise provided by law. 

Officers of the System. — The public school system is 
administered through the following officers : A state 
board of education, a superintendent of public instruction, 
division superintendents of schools, county and city school 
boards, and district school boards. 

The State Board of Education. — The Board of Edu- 
cation is a corporation consisting of the Governor, the 
Attorney-General, the Superintendent of Public Instruc- 
tion, three experienced educators, and two division super- 
intendents as associate members. The three educators 



82 THE PUBLIC SCHOOL SYSTEM 

are taken from the faculties of the state educational insti- 
tutions, and are selected in the following manner : The 
boards of visitors or trustees of the different state educa- 
tional institutions x nominate from the respective faculties 
men eligible for membership on the Board of Education. 
From the list thus obtained, the Senate elects three mem- 
bers, no two of these coming from the same institution. 
The Board itself, as thus constituted, then elects, as asso- 
ciate members, two division superintendents, one from a 
county and one from a city. The associate members have 
all the powers of the other members and discharge all their 
duties, except that they do not take part in the appoint- 
ment of any public school official. All the members of 
the Board of Education serve for four years, except the 
division superintendents, who hold office for two years. 
This board is authorized to prescribe the duties of the 
Superintendent of Public Instruction ; to divide the state 
into appropriate school divisions, appoint the division 
superintendents, subject to confirmation by the Senate, 
determine their duties and suspend them or remove them 
for cause : to select text-books and provide for the 
furnishing of schoolhouses with necessary apparatus 
and library; to prescribe the minimum number of pupils 
required to form a school ; to hear appeals from the de- 
cision of the superintendent of public instruction ; to make 
general regulations for conducting the system ; to regulate, 
as the law provides, the management and investment of all 

1 The State educational institutions from whose faculties the three 
educators are elected are the University of Virginia, the Virginia Military- 
Institute, the Virginia Polytechnic Institute, the State Female Normal 
School at Farmville, the School for the Deaf and Blind, and also the 
College 'of William and Mary as long as this institution receives an annual 
appropriation from the State. 



THE DIVISION SUPERINTENDENT 83 

school funds ; to exercise such supervision of state schools 
of higher grades as the law provides ; and to make a 
report to the General Assembly at each regular session. 
It is also the duty of this board to appoint a board of 
directors for the state library. 

The Superintendent of Public Instruction. — This of- 
ficer, who must be an experienced educator, is elected by 
the people at the same time and for the same term as the 
Governor. He is the chief executive of the public school 
system, and as such he is to a large extent responsible for 
its efficiency. It is his duty to explain the meaning of the 
school laws and to see that they are faithfully executed ; 
to instruct school officers as to their duties ; to prescribe 
the forms of registers and reports ; to apportion the school 
funds among the counties and cities ; to exercise general 
supervision of the public schools of the state ; to decide ap- 
peals, from decisions of division superintendents; to make 
an annual report to the Board of Education, of which he 
is ex officio president, giving detailed information in re- 
gard to the workings of the system ; to make suggestions 
to the Board of Education and to the General Assembly 
upon matters connected with the system ; and to promote 
by all proper means an appreciation of education among 
the people and a desire for it. 

The Division Superintendent. — A superintendent for 
each school division is appointed by the Board of Educa- 
tion, subject to confirmation by the Senate. He serves for 
a term of four years, from the first day of July after his 
appointment, and till his successor is qualified. He is 
required to supervise and visit the schools in his division ; 
to explain the school system upon all proper occasions ; to 



84 THE PUBLIC SCHOOL SYSTEM 

promote an appreciation of education among the people 
and a desire for it ; to examine and license persons who 
wish to teach ; to promote the improvement and efficiency 
of teachers by all proper methods, under the direction of 
the superintendent of public instruction ; to prepare an- 
nually, or oftener if it be necessary, under the direction of 
the superintendent of public instruction, a scheme for 
apportioning the state and local school funds among 
the school districts of his division ; to decide all appeals 
or complaints touching the acts of persons connected with 
the school system in his division, subject to appeal to the 
superintendent of public instruction ; to require annually, 
or oftener if necessary, from the clerks of the boards of 
district school trustees, full statistics in regard to the pub- 
lic schools of their respective districts ; to observe the 
directions and regulations of the superintendent of public 
instruction, and to report to him annually. He is ex 
officio president of the county school board. 

The School Trustee Electoral Board. — This body is 
composed of the division superintendent, the common- 
wealth's attorney, and a resident, qualified voter ap- 
pointed by the judge of the circuit court. The 
division superintendent is chairman and the board elects 
one of its members clerk. The members qualify before 
the clerk of the circuit court, and serve for a term of 
four years. The first members appointed, under the pres- 
ent law, entered upon their duties, March 1, 1904. 

The chief duty of this board is to appoint the school 
trustees. There are three of these for each school dis- 
trict, and they serve for a term of three years. The 
three first appointed served for one, two and three years ; 



THE DISTRICT BOARD OF SCHOOL TRUSTEES ©5 

and so, in filling vacancies, the board now appoints one 
each year. This board is also authorized to remove from 
office any trustee who fails to qualify, or who does not 
discharge his duty. 

The County School Board. — The division superin- 
tendent of schools and the district school trustees in each 
county constitute a corporation, called the County School 
Board, which has power to make contracts, to take^and 
hold property, and to sue and be sued. All property to 
be applied to county school purposes is vested in the 
County School Board, unless inconsistent with the grant 
or devise, upon such terms and conditions for its security 
as the circuit court shall prescribe. All such property the 
board is authorized, when not inconsistent with the terms 
of the grant or devise, to manage, and to apply the profits 
from it to educational purposes in the same manner and 
under the same restrictions as the general school fund is 
applied, except that a part of the profits may, if the board 
so* decides, be used in the erection of schoolhouses or in 
the purchase of apparatus. In cases where money or 
.other property is held by trustees for purposes of com- 
mon school education, the board is charged with the 
duty of seeing that the trusts are properly administered, 
and it has authority to take all steps necessary to insure 
this. This board submits to the division superintendent, 
by the first of July each year, an estimate of the amount 
of money that will be needed for the support of the pub- 
lic schools during the next scholastic year. It also ap- 
portions the county school money among the districts of 
the county. 

The District Board of School Trustees. — The three 



86 THE PUBLIC SCHOOL SYSTEM 

trustees of each district form the District Board of 
School Trustees, of which one of the members is chair- 
man and another clerk. This board is charged with the 
important duty of seeing that the details of the school 
system are carried out in the district. It is required to 
observe the school laws and regulations, to explain them 
and to enforce them ; to employ teachers, and to dismiss 
them when delinquent ; to suspend or dismiss pupils, 
when necessary ; to supply text-books to children too 
poor to pay for them ; to see that the school census is 
taken as prescribed by law ; to call meetings of the peo- 
ple of the district for consultation in regard to school 
interests ; to prepare annually and submit, on or before 
the 15th day of May, in each year, to the president of the 
County School Board, to be laid before the board at its 
earliest meeting, an estimate of the amount of money 
that will be needed in the district during the next school 
year, for providing schoolhouses, school books for in- 
digent children, other school appliances, and necessary, 
proper, and lawful expenses ; to hold, care for, and 
manage the school property of the district ; to visit from 
time to time the schools of the district so as to see that 
they are properly conducted ; to make an annual report 
to the division superintendent ; and to issue warrants on 
the county treasurer to pay teachers, the clerk of the 
board for his services, and all other school expenses, 
after all such claims have been examined and approved. 
The clerk of the District Board is required, in addi- 
tion to keeping the record of the proceedings of the 
board, every five years, beginning with 1905, to take a 
census of all persons between the ages of seven and twenty 



SCHOOL FUNDS 87 

years living in the district, and at the same time a 
separate census of all deaf and blind persons between 
the same ages, to keep the records of the proceedings 
of the board, and to discharge such other duties as 
may be assigned to him. 

Teachers. — Every teacher must be examined by the 
division superintendent, receive a certificate of qualifica- 
tion, and sign a written contract before taking charge 
of a school. Teachers are required to keep a daily reg- 
ister of facts pertaining to their schools in the manner 
prescribed by the superintendent of public instruction. 
A teacher can, for sufficient cause, suspend a pupil till 
the case is decided by the board of school trustees. For 
the better equipment of teachers for their work, the 
General Assembly has made provision for a number of 
Summer Normal Schools which are held annually. 

Pupils. — Pupils between the ages of seven and 
twenty years may attend the public schools free of cost. 
Persons between the ages of twenty and twenty-five 
are admitted if they prepay a tuition fee. An enroll- 
ment of at least twenty pupils, with a reasonable assur- 
ance of an average daily attendance of that number, is 
required to constitute a public free school. White and 
colored children are taught in separate schools but under 
the same general regulations as to management,' useful- 
ness, and efficiency. 

School Funds. — The funds which go annually to the 
support of the public schools consist of the following: — 

1 . State Funds. — These consist of the annual interest 
on the Literary fund, of all appropriations made by the 
General Assembly for public free school purposes of a 



88 THE PUBLIC SCHOOL SYSTEM 

capitation tax 1 of one dollar per annum on every male 
citizen who has attained the age of twenty-one years, and 
of such tax on property, not less than ten cents nor more 
than fifty cents on every hundred dollars worth, as the 
General Assembly shall each year order to be levied. 
These funds are applied to the public free schools of the 
primary and grammar grades, and are apportioned on 
the basis of the school population. The primary and 
grammar schools are conducted for the equal benefit of 
all the people of the state. 

2. Funds raised by Local Taxation. — The constitu- 
tion gives the people in the various localities of the state 
the right to impose on themselves a special tax for edu- 
cational purposes, provided the total levy for county and 
district school purposes does not exceed fifty cents on 
every hundred dollars worth of property. So each county, 
city, town (if the town is a separate school district) and 
school district can adopt this plan for raising additional 
funds for the support of such schools as the public welfare 
may require. The Legislature in carrying out this provi- 
sion of the constitution has enacted (1904) a law requir- 
ing the people of each county to pay, for school purposes, 
a tax of from seven and one-half cents to twenty cents 
upon every hundred dollars worth of property in the 
county, and the people of each district likewise to pay 
a tax of from seven and a half cents to twenty cents 
upon every hundred dollars worth of property in the 
district. The primary schools, however, must be main- 
tained at least four months of the school year before 

1 The legislature is authorized to levy a capitation tax of one dollar 
and fifty cents, but of such tax only one dollar is devoted to public 
school purposes. 



QUESTIONS 89 

schools of a higher grade can be established. The boards 
of supervisors of the counties and the councils of cities 
and towns provide for the levying of local school taxes. 

City Schools. — The provisions for public schools in 
cities and towns 2 are essentially the same as those for 
the country. The system is administered by the State 
Board of Education, the superintendent of public instruc- 
tion, division superintendents, and city school boards. 
A city school board has power, subject to the approval 
of the council, to divide the city into school districts, and 
it appoints all the teachers for the city schools. The 
city or town council appoints the three trustees for each 
school district, and levies taxes, or makes an appropriation 
for the support of the schools. In other respects the city 
school organization is the same as that for the country. 
The corresponding officers having also similar duties. 

QUESTIONS 

1. What law did the General Assembly pass in 1796 in re- 

gard to public education? 

2. Why did the law not go into operation? 

3. When was the Literary Fund formed, and how was all 

the interest at first used? 

4. In 1817 how much of the interest was applied to the 

endowment of the University, and how was the re- 
mainder used? 

5. When was adequate provision made for public educa- 

tion? 

6. Tell about the division of the state into school divisions. 

7. What is a school district? 

8. What officers administer the public school system? 

1 A town of more than five hundred inhabitants may, if the council 
so decides, form a single school district. 



90 THE PUBLIC SCHOOL SYSTEM 

9. How is the Board of Education constituted, and what 
are its chief duties? 

10. How is the superintendent of public instruction elected, 

and what are his chief duties? 

11. How is the division superintendent appointed, and what 

are his duties? 

12. Who compose the County School Board? 
1.3. What powers has this board? 

14. What are its duties in regard to property to be applied to 

school uses? 

15. Who compose the School Trustee Electoral Board, and 

what is the chief duty of this board? 

16. How is the District Board of School Trustees formed? 

17. With what important duty is this board charged? 

18. Name some of its special duties? 

19. What is the clerk of the District Board of School Trus 

tees required to do every five years? 

20. By whom must every applicant to teach be examined? 

What certificate must be obtained? 

21. W 7 hat provision has the General Assembly made for the 

improvement of teachers? 

22. Who can attend public schools as pupils, and how many 

pupils are necessary to form a school? 

23. What do the state funds for public schools embrace? 

24. What constitute the local funds? 

25. What is said of the provisions for city schools? 



CHAPTER IX 

ELECTIONS 

The Right of Suffrage. — A characteristic feature of 
a free state is that the people are allowed to take part 
in the government, and this right is usually one of the 
first guaranteed by the constitution. The political power 
possessed by the people consists chiefly in the right of 
suffrage, by which is meant the right to vote in the elec- 
tion of officers and in deciding public questions. This 
right does not belong to all the people, but only to such 
as possess qualifications that are deemed necessary. 

Qualifications Required. — The right of suffrage is 
granted to every male citizen of the United States, twenty- 
one years of age, who has been a resident of Virginia for 
two years, of his county, city or town for one year, and 
of the precinct where he offers to vote for thirty days 
immediately preceding any election in which he wishes 
to take part, provided he has been registered and has also 
paid his poll taxes in the manner prescribed by law. The 
laws * in regard to registration and the prepayment of 
capitation taxes 'are very strict, and, if properly enforced, 
will have the happy effect of restricting, in large measure, 
the right of suffrage to such citizens as are qualified to 

1 For a full statement of these laws, see Sections 19, 20, 21, 22, 23 of 
the Constitution. 

91 



92 ELECTIONS 

exercise it intelligently. Without such restriction, it is 
impossible to secure the best government. 

Qualified voters are entitled to vote for members of 
the General Assembly and for all officers elected by the 
people. 

Registration. — The legislature provides for an an- 
nual registration of voters. Any person not allowed to 
register can appeal to the circuit court of his county 
or to the corporation court of his city. 

The Election System. — For convenience to the peo- 
ple and to save expense, the same voting places are 
used for all elections, and officers of different kinds are 
elected at the same time. All elections are conducted 
upon the same general plan and by the same election 
officers. Magisterial district officers, county officers, 
State and Federal officers are elected on the Tuesday 
after the first Monday in November. So also are all 
town and city officers except mayors and councilmen, 
who are elected on the second Tuesday in June. Notices 
of special elections in counties are given by sheriffs and 
in cities by sergeants. Elections in towns are made 
known by the sheriff. 

Election Officers. — The duty of carrying out the elec- 
tion laws is discharged by the Board of State Canvassers, 
an Electoral Board for each county and city, a Board of 
Commissioners of Election for each county and city, and 
precinct judges and clerks. 

Board of State Canvassers. — This board is composed 
of the governor, the secretary of the commonwealth, the 
auditor of public accounts, the state treasurer, and the 
attornev eeneral. or anv three of these. Its chief duty 



PRECINCT OFFICERS 93 

is to examine the election returns and determine the re- 
sults for Federal officers and for the following State 
officers : The superintendent of public instruction, com- 
missioner of agriculture and immigration, and members 
of the General Assembly. 

County and City Electoral Boards. — Each county 
and city has an electoral board of three members, who 
are appointed by the circuit court of the county or the 
corporation court of the city. The members serve for 
three years, but their terms of office are so arranged 
that they expire at different periods, one year apart. The 
board chooses one of its members to be chairman, and 
another to be secretary, and holds a regular session an- 
nually in the month of March. It appoints election judges, 
clerks, commissioners of election, and registrars for its 
county or city. It is also charged with the duty of hav- 
ing ballots printed and delivered at the voting places before 
each election. 

Election Districts. — Each magisterial district of a 
county, and each ward of a city, constitutes an election 
district or precinct, and for each precinct there is but one 
voting place. If it is found to be necessary, a magis- 
terial district and also a ward may be divided into more 
precincts than one. 

Precinct Officers. — Each precinct has three judges 
and two clerks. The judges and clerks are appointed by 
the Electoral Board of the county or city annually in the 
month of May, and whenever it is possible they are 
selected from different political parties. They serve for 
one year, and conduct all elections that take place in their 
precinct during their term of office. No person, if a can- 



94 ELECTIONS 

didate for an office at the election can serve as judge or 
clerk of elections. 

Commissioners of Election. — Each county and city 
has a Board of Commissioners of Election of five mem- 
bers, any three of whom can act. It is appointed by the 
Electoral Board of the county or city, annually in the 
month of May, and the members are selected from the 
judges of election. Its duty is to canvass the election 
returns of its county or city. 

Registration. — To prevent illegal voting, the Elec- 
toral Board of each county and city appoints for each 
precinct an officer, called a registrar, to enroll the names 
of persons entitled to vote, in books provided for the 
purpose. It is the duty of the registrar to be at his 
precinct every year on the third Tuesday in May to reg- 
ister all voters, not previously registered, and, thirty days 
before the November elections, to give one day to 
amending and correcting the list of voters. At this time, 
also, any qualified voter may register. The registrar is 
required by law at any time, previous to the regular 
registration days, to register any voter who may apply 
to him. The registrars are appointed before the first 
day of April, and serve for a term of two years. The first 
were appointed under the present law in 1904. No per- 
son is allowed to vote unless he has registered. 

Election Supplies. — Registration books and poll 
books, that is, books in which are enrolled the names of 
persons as they vote, are furnished for each precinct by 
the secretary of the commonwealth. The electoral 
boards have the ballots printed. These contain the names 
of all candidates that have complied with the requirements 



AT THE POLLS 95 

made of them by law, printed in black ink and in sepa- 
rate lines, below the office for which they offer themselves. 
The electoral boards affix to the ballots official seals, and 
put them up in sealed packages, making for each pre- 
cinct a package containing twice as many ballots as the 
precinct has registered voters. The packages are kept 
by the secretaries of the. electoral boards till a few days 
before the election, when they are delivered to the pre- 
cinct judges. When a president and vice president are 
to be elected, the electoral boards have printed, on the 
official ballots, the name of each candidate for president 
and vice president, and group, under the names of the 
candidates for president and vice president of each polit- 
ical party, the names of the electors nominated by the 
political party of such candidates. None but sworn 
officers are allowed to see the official ballots till election day 
in order to prevent any one from cheating by having sim- 
ilar ballots printed. 

Voting Places. — The voting places, called also polls, 
are kept open for one day — from sunrise to sunset. The 
law directs the electoral boards to provide at each 
voting place one or more small compartments or booths 
large enough to conceal a voter from general observation. 
Each booth must be supplied with a desk or other 
convenience for writing and also with pen and 
ink. It must likewise be arranged so that a person stand- 
ing in it at the desk will be wholly excluded from the 
observation of the clerks, judges of election, and other 
persons. 

At the Polls. — Each voter, as he presents himself, is 
furnished with an official ballot by one of the judges. 



96 ELECTIONS 

This he takes within the booth and prepares it by draw- 
ing a pen or pencil through the names of the candidates 
he does not wish to vote for, leaving the title of the office 
and the name or names of the candidates he does wish 
to vote for unscratched. No name is considered 
scratched unless the pen or pencil mark extends through 
three fourths of the name. The voter can also erase 
any name on the official ballot and substitute for it in 
writing another name. If a president and vice president 
are to be elected, the voter prepares his ballot by mark- 
ing out the names of the candidates for president and vice- 
president he does not wish to vote for, but leaves the 
electors unscratched. Having prepared his ballot, he 
folds it with the names of the candidates on the inside, 
and hands it to one of the judges, who pronounces the 
name of the voter in an audible voice, and deposits the 
ballot in the box. The name of the voter is then checked 
on the registration book by one of the judges, and entered 
by the clerks of election in the poll book. 

Challenging. — When a person offers to vote, the 
judges or any qualified voter may challenge him if it is 
supposed that he is not entitled to exercise the right of 
suffrage. A person who has been challenged is not 
allowed to vote unless the challenge is withdrawn, or his 
right to vote is sworn to by himself. 

Counting Votes. — After the polls have been closed, 
the judges count the number of ballots, and, if it exceeds 
the number of- names enrolled on the poll books, a num- 
ber of ballots equal to the excess is selected by lot and 
destroyed. If any voter casts two ballots by folding 
them together, these are also destroyed ; and if by the 



THE RETURNS 97 

destruction of fraudulent votes the number of ballots is 
reduced below the number of names on the poll books, 
the cause of the reduction is stated. The poll books are 
then signed by the judges and attested by the clerks. 
This being done, the judges read the ballots, and count the 
votes cast for each candidate. Two persons, friendly to 
each political party, are allowed to witness the counting. 

The Returns. — When the results have been deter- 
mined, they are written down in full in the poll books, 
after which the books are sealed, and together with the 
ballots, which are strung on a cord, are delivered on the 
day after the election by one of the judges to the clerk 
of the county or corporation. On the second day after 
the election, the commissioners of election meet at the 
clerk's office, and ascertain from the returns the persons 
who have received the greatest number of votes in the 
county or corporation for the several offices to be rilled. 

The clerk then transmits to the secretary of the com- 
monwealth abstracts of all the results. Immediately after 
this, he makes out, in accordance with the determination 
of the commissioners, certificates of election for each 
of the persons receiving the highest number of votes for 
any county, corporation, or district office. On the fourth 
Monday in November, the board of state canvassers meets 
at the office of the secretary of the commonwealth to 
examine the whole number of votes cast in the state for 
each of the following officers, or for such of them as 
were voted for at the election ; superintendent of public 
instruction, commissioner of agriculture and immigra- 
tion, members of the General Assembly, representatives 
in Congress, and electors for president and vice president 



98 ELECTIONS 

of the United States. After the votes have been counted 
the secretary of the commonwealth sends to each of the 
persons who has been elected a certificate of election. 

The election returns for the governor, lieutenant-gov- 
ernor, secretary of the commonwealth, state treasurer, 
and attorney-general are sent by the secretary of the 
commonwealth to the speaker of the House of Delegates, 
on the first day of the next session of the General Assem- 
bly held after the election. The speaker of the House of 
Delegates within a week after he receives the election 
returns opens them in the presence of a majority of the 
members of the General Assembly. The votes are then 
counted and the successful candidates are declared 
elected. The attorney-general receives his commission 
from the governor. 

QUESTIONS 



What is a characteristic right of free government? 

In what right does the political power possessed by the 

people chiefly consist, and what is meant by this right? 
What qualifications are required for an exercise of the 

right of suffrage? 
What laws restrict the right of suffrage? 
How often are voters registered? 

Why are the same voting places used for all elections? 
When are county, district, state, and Federal officers 

elected? When are town and city officers? 
How are notices of special elections given? 
What officers carry out the election laws? 
Who compose the Board of State Canvassers, and what 

are the duties of this board? 
How are county and city electoral boards appointed, and 

how long do the members serve? 
When do these boards hold their annual meetings, and 

what are their duties? 



QUESTIONS 



99 



13. What is meant by an election district or precinct? 

14. Who are the precinct officers, and how are they ap- 

pointed? 

15. How long do the}^ serve, and what are their duties? 

16. When is the Board of Commissioners of Elections ap- 

pointed, and what is its duty? 

17. What is the object of registration? 

18. W T hat are the duties of the registrar? 

19. How are election supplies obtained? 

20. What boards have the ballots printed, and what names 

are put upon them? 

21. How many ballots are put in a package for each pre- 

cinct? 

22. What officer keeps the package, and to whom does he 

deliver it a few days before an election? 

23. When a president and a vice president of the United 

States are to be elected, what do the electoral boards 
have printed on the official ballots? 

24. What are the voting places called, and how long are 

they kept open? 

25. What does the law require to be provided at each voting 

place? 

26. Tell what a voter has to do when he goes to the polls. 

27. Explain what is meant by challenging. 

28. Who counts the ballots? 

29. If the number of votes cast in any election exceeds the 

number of enrolled voters, what is done? If any voter 
casts two ballots, what is done? 

30. After the results have been determined at a precinct, 

what is done with the poll books and the ballots? 

31. To what officer does the clerk send abstracts of all the 

election returns? 

32. Who determine the results for county, corporation and 

district officers? 

33. What election returns does the Board of State Can- 

vassers examine? 

34. What election returns are opened and counted before the 

General Assembly? 

35. Who commissions the attorney-general? 

LofC. 



CHAPTER X 
POLITICAL PARTIES 

Origin of Political Parties in the United States. — 

When the Constitution of 1787 was submitted to the 
states for ratification, those who favored it were called 
Federalists, and those who opposed it Anti-Federalists. 
This was the first real division of the people into politi- 
cal parties. The Federalists triumphed by securing the 
adoption of the Constitution ; and no sooner had this been 
done than they began to advocate the formation of a 
strong national government by giving to the United 
States all the power that a loose construction of the 
language of the Constitution would allow. On the other 
hand, those who had opposed the adoption of the Con- 
stitution advocated the restriction of the powers of the 
Federal government strictly to the letter of the law as 
laid down in the Constitution. This line of division has 
run through our political history ever since we dissolved 
our allegiance with Great Britain. 

Parties a Benefit. — Opposing parties are always found 
in countries where people take part in the government, 
and are free to think and act for themselves. It is well 
both for our state and our nation that people should 
divide upon questions of public interest, for this causes 
errors in the administration of affairs to be more closely 
watched and more speedily remedied. 

100 



THE PRIMARY ELECTION IOI 

Advantages of Organization. — The aim of every 
party is to secure the triumph of its principles, and this 
can be done only by the election of men to public offices 
who will carry them out. Hence arises the necessity for 
organization on the part of those who agree upon the 
more important issues which a party advocates, so that 
unity of action may be secured. 

How a Party is Organized. — The organization of a 
party is usually effected through committees, which 
exercise authority over well-defined areas. The general 
interests of the party in the state are looked after by a 
state committee. Then there are city committees, county 
committees, etc. A perfectly organized party will even 
have a committee for each precinct. 

Work done by Committees. — Each committee looks 
after the interests of the party in the area for which it 
was organized. Committees plan the campaign, call con- 
ventions to nominate candidates, arrange for primary 
elections, secure speakers, distribute campaign literature, 
and influence voters. 

The Primary Meeting. — Local meetings held by the 
adherents of a political party for the purpose of ap- 
pointing delegates to attend nominating conventions, are 
called primary meetings. In these meetings, as a rule, 
only persons who supported the party ticket at the last 
general election, or who indicate their purpose to sup- 
port it at the next election, are allowed to vote. 

The Primary Election. — The primary election is 
held to select delegates to a convention, or for the pur- 
pose of directly nominating candidates to be voted for. 
It is really a formal primary meeting, in which the elec- 



102 POLITICAL PARTIES 

tion is conducted in a manner prescribed by law. In 
Virginia, no person is allowed to vote at any legalized 
primary election, for the nomination of any candidate for 
office unless he is, at the time, registered and qualified to 
vote at the next general election. 

Caucus. — Frequently before a primary meeting or 
primary election, the representatives of a political party 
hold a private meeting for the purpose of bringing about 
the nomination of some particular candidate. This is 
called a caucus. In legislative bodies also the members 
of the same political party often hold a caucus to devise 
plans to promote party interests. 

Nominating Candidates. — Candidates to represent a 
party are usually selected by conventions, which are rep- 
resentative bodies made up of delegates chosen in primary 
meetings. Candidates for state offices are nominated by 
a state convention, candidates for the state Senate by 
conventions held in the senatorial districts, candidates 
for the House of Delegates by conventions held in the 
representative districts, candidates for the county offices 
by a county convention, candidates for the House of 
Representatives of the United States by conventions held 
in the congressional districts. 

The Unit Rule. — Sometimes the delegates to a con- 
vention are instructed to vote together in making nomi- 
nations. This is called the unit rule. At other times 
they are left free, each one to vote as he deems best. 

The National Convention. — Once in four years each 
of the great parties holds a convention to nominate candi- 
dates for president and vice president. This is com- 
posed of delegates from all the states, each state being 



QUESTIONS IO3 

allowed to send two delegates for each congressional dis- 
trict and four for the whole state, called delegates at large. 
Party Platforms. — Each political party, when it 
makes nominations for president and vice president, pub- 
lishes a declaration of its principles. This is called a 
platform. The state convention usually adopts the 
national platform as its own, with such additions as 
local interests seem to demand. 

QUESTIONS 

1. Who were the Federalists, and the Anti-Federalists? 

2. After the Constitution of the United States had been 

adopted, what did the Federalists begin to advocate? 

3. What did those who had opposed the adoption of the 

Constitution hold? 

4. Where are opposing parties always found? 

5. Why are political parties a benefit? 

6. What is the aim of every party, and how can it be best 

attained? 

7. Why is organization necessary? 

8. How is a party organized? Name some of the usual 

committees. 

9. What work is done by committees? 

10. What is a primary meeting? 

11. In such meetings, what persons usually vote? 

12. What is a primary election? 

13. Who is allowed to vote at legalized primary elections in 

Virginia? 

14. What is a caucus? 

15. How are candidates usually selected? 

16. What is the unit rule? 

17. How often does each great political party hold a conven- 

tion to nominate candidates for president and vice 
president of the United States? 

18. How many delegates is each state allowed to send to 

such conventions? 

19. What are party platforms? 

20. What platform does a state convention usually adopt? 



CHAPTER XI 
TAXATION 

What are Taxes ? — The feature of government that 
is most familiar to all the citizens is its power to levy 
taxes. Indeed, this may be called its most characteristic 
feature; for if, in any country, there is doubt as to the 
ruling power, we have only to find out the person or 
persons whom the people recognize as having authority 
to tax them, and we at once know the government they 
recognize. What, then, are taxes? Every government 
takes from its citizens a part of their private property to 
pay for the benefits it confers upon them. This is tax- 
ation, so that a tax may be defined as a sum of money 
taken from a citizen for public uses. 

Reasons for Taxes. — The government does many 
things for the welfare of its citizens which benefit one 
as much as another. The different state, county, town, 
and city officers must be paid for their services. Public 
buildings must be erected, salaries paid to school-teachers, 
roads kept in good order, and many other things done 
for the public good. All must be paid for, and it is the 
duty of the government to raise money from the people 
to pay for such objects. 

What is Taxed. — Taxes are assessed on persons, on 
property, and on privileges. A tax on persons is called a 
capitation, or poll tax, and is placed only on male inhabit- 

104 



PRINCIPLE OF TAXATION IO5 

ants over twenty-one years of age. Real estate and the 
buildings on it are taxed, and so is personal property. 
All ready money, most stocks and bonds, money due to 
persons, agricultural implements, mechanics' tools, furni- 
ture, pictures, books, etc., are classed as personal property. 
Thus this kind of property includes almost all a person can 
own except real estate. Taxes on privileges are those 
charged for granting to persons and to corporations the 
right to carry on certain kinds of business. Such taxes 
as these are called license or franchise taxes. For 
example, every express company, merchant, and book 
agent has to pay a privilege or license tax. The gov- 
ernment derives some revenue from fines and from tax- 
ing incomes that exceed six hundred dollars. 

Principle of Taxation. — Whenever property is taxed, 
whether it is done by state, county, or municipal authori- 
ties, the law requires that taxes shall be uniform upon the 
same class of subjects, within the territorial limits of the 
authority imposing them. The separation of property 
into classes for purposes of taxation is left with the Legis- 
lature. Another principle recognized by the constitution 
is that property should not be subject to double taxation. 
In applying this principle the constitution states that 
whenever a franchise tax has been imposed upon a cor- 
poration doing business in the State, or whenever all the 
capital, however invested, of a corporation chartered 
under the laws of the State has been taxed, then the 
shares of stock issued by that corporation shall not be 
further taxed. 

This is just, for all the capital of the corporation hav- 
ing been taxed, then to tax its shares of stock, which are 



106 TAXATION 

merely evidences of ownership in such a corporation is 
double taxation, which is an evil that should be avoided. 

Property exempt from Taxation. — Some property is 
for reasons of public policy exempt from taxation, such 
as public property belonging to the state and to the 
United States ; property belonging to a county, city, or 
town, when used exclusively for county, city, town, or 
public school purposes ; church buildings used wholly for 
religious purposes and buildings used as residences for 
ministers ; property belonging to public libraries and insti- 
tutions of learning not conducted for profit, when such 
property is used wholly for educational purposes, and 
also the permanent endowment funds of such institu- 
tions ; real estate belonging to Young Men's Christian 
Associations, orphan asylums, reformatories, hospitals 
and nunneries, which are not conducted for profit; build- 
ings with the land they occupy belonging to charitable 
and benevolent associations, when used exclusively for 
lodge purposes or meeting rooms ; private burying 
grounds when not larger than one acre, and public burying 
grounds, not conducted for profit ; property belonging to 
the Association for the Preservation of Virginia Antiqui- 
ties, the Confederate Memorial Literary Society, the 
Mount Vernon Ladies' Association of the Union and the 
Virginia Historical Society. 

Objects for which Taxes are assessed. — i. The chief 
objects for which the state raises money are to pay the 
salaries of the state officers and of members of the Gen- 
eral Assembly ; to support benevolent, charitable, and 
literary institutions ; to carry on works of internal im- 
provement ; to support the public school system ; and to 



THE ASSESSMENT OF TAXES IOJ 

provide for paying the interest and the principal of the 
state debt. 2. The main objects for which counties levy 
taxes are to pay county officers, to maintain jails and 
poorhouses, to build roads and bridges, to raise money 
for county school purposes, and to pay general county 
expenses. 3. Towns and cities lay taxes on the people 
for various objects such as to erect public buildings, 
waterworks, and gasworks, to build schoolhouses, to lay 
streets, etc. 

The Assessment of Taxes. — From the land books 
and the personal property books, prepared by the com- 
missioners of the revenue, the total valuation of the tax- 
able property of each county and corporation can be read- 
ily ascertained. At the present time (1904), the state 
tax 1 upon all real and personal property is twenty cents 
upon every hundred dollars of assessed value for the 
support of the government, and ten cents upon every 
hundred dollars of assessed value for the state public 
school fund. The levies for county needs and for county 
school purposes are made by the boards of supervisors. 
The state and county taxes being known, it is easy to 
ascertain the total rate of taxation for the different coun- 
ties and corporations, and the taxes of each person can 
then be correctly assessed from the valuation of his prop- 
erty. The school taxes are kept separate from the other 
taxes. The constitution states that no greater amount of 
tax shall, at any time, be levied than may be required for 
the necessary expenses of the government, or to pay the 
existing indebtedness of the state. 

1 The rates of taxation given above are fixed by the Constitution till 
1907. After that time, the tax rates will be prescribed by the legislature. 



108 TAXATION 

QUESTIONS 

i. Why may taxation be called the most characteristic fea- 
ture of government? 

2. What are taxes? 

3. Why has government a right to levy taxes? 

4. What are poll taxes? 

5. What kinds of property are taxed? 

6. What are taxes on privileges? 

7. What principles are adopted in regard to taxation? 

8. What property is exempt from taxation? 

9. What are the chief objects for which the state levies 

taxes ? 

10. For what purposes do counties, towns, and cities levy 

taxes? 

11. How is the valuation of the taxable property of each 

county and corporation ascertained? 

12. What is the present state tax for the support of the 

government? What for public schools? 

13. How are the levies for county needs arid for county 

school purposes made? 

14. The rate of taxation being known, how are each citizen's 

taxes assessed? 

15. How does the constitution restrict taxation? 



CHAPTER XII 
THE GOVERNMENT OF VIRGINIA IN OUTLINE 

Virginia, the First Constitutional Government in 
America. — A government carried on under a constitu- 
tion is called a constitutional government. To Virginia 
belongs the honor of being the first constitutional gov- 
ernment in America. On June 29, 1776, before the 
Declaration of Independence was made, she declared her- 
self to be an independent commonwealth, and adopted a 
constitution. The famous Bill of Rights, contained in 
this early constitution, may well be called the Magna 
Charta of American liberties. This constitution was re- 
vised in 1829, in 1850, in 1869, and in 1902. The present 
constitution contains a preamble, fifteen articles, and a 
schedule. 

Article I. — 'This article, consisting of seventeen sec- 
tions, makes a formal declaration of rights, belonging to 
the people of Virginia and to their posterity, upon which 
the government is based. From it are taken the fol- 
lowing extracts, which express so well the foundation of 
republican freedom that nothing can be added to them. 

" All men are by nature equally free and independent, 
and have certain inherent rights, of which when they 
enter into a state of society they cannot by any compact 
deprive or divest their posterity, — namely, the enjoyment 

109 



IIO THE GOVERNMENT OF VIRGINIA IN OUTLINE 

of life and liberty, with the means of acquiring and pos- 
sessing property, and pursuing and obtaining happiness 
and safety." " All power is vested in, and consequently 
derived from, the people." " No man or set of men are 
entitled to exclusive or separate emoluments or privileges 
from the community but in -consideration of public 
services, which, not being descendible, neither ought the 
offices of magistrate, legislator, or judge to be heredi- 
tary." " The freedom of the press is one of the great 
bulwarks of liberty, and can never be restrained but by 
despotic governments, and any citizen may speak, write, 
and publish his sentiments on all subjects, being respon- 
sible for the abuse of that liberty." " No free government 
or the blessings of liberty can be preserved to any people 
but by a firm adherence to justice, moderation, temper- 
ance, and virtue, and by a frequent recurrence to funda- 
mental principles." " Religion or the duty which we 
owe to our Creator, and the manner of discharging it, 
can be directed only by reason and conviction, not by force 
or violence; and, therefore, all men are equally entitled 
to the free exercise of religion according to the dictates 
of conscience." 

Article II. — This article contains twenty-one sections, 
which treat of the qualifications citizens must possess in 
order to be entitled to exercise the right of suffrage, and 
of qualifications for office. It gives also the oath all 
officers must take before entering upon their duties. 

Article III. — This article has but one section, which 
directs that the government shall be divided into three 
departments, — the legislative, the executive, and the 
judicial, — and that these shall be kept separate. 



THE CONSTITUTION III 

Article IV. — This article has twenty-nine sections. It 
describes the legislative department of the government, 
declaring that it "shall be vested in a General Assembly, 
which shall consist of a Senate and House of Delegates." 
It then gives the requisite qualifications of senators and 
delegates, and defines the powers and duties of the Gen- 
eral Assembly. 

Article V. — This article comprises eighteen sections, 
which are on the executive department. It declares that 
the chief executive authority shall be vested in a gover- 
nor, and that the other executive officers • shall be a lieu- 
tenant governor, a secretary of the commonwealth, a 
treasurer, and an auditor. It further tells how these 
officers are to be elected, and defines their duties in a 
general way. It also gives the General Assembly power 
to establish a Bureau of Labor and Statistics. 

Article VI. — This article consists of twenty-three sec- 
tions. It treats of the judicial department of the govern- 
ment, which it vests in a supreme court of appeals, cir- 
cuit courts, and city courts. 

Article VII. — This article has six sections, and it 
gives the county organizations, telling what officers are 
to administer county affairs, and explaining the method 
by which they are to be elected. 

Article VIII. — This article has thirteen sections. It 
makes provision for the government of cities and towns, 
enumerates their officers, and states the method by which 
they are to be elected. 

Article IX. — This article has fourteen sections. It 
deals with the subject of education, and makes provision 



112 THE GOVERNMENT OF VIRGINIA IN OUTLINE 

for the support and administration of the public free 
school system. 

Article X. — This article has four sections and it treats 
of the department of Agriculture and Immigration. 

Article XI. — This article has six sections and it pro- 
vides for public institutions and prisons. 

Article XII. — This article has fifteen sections, and it 
deals with the subject of corporations. It makes pro- 
vision for a permanent Corporation Commission to con- 
sist of three members. This commission grants charters 
to corporations and exercises general supervision over 
them. 

Article XIII. — This article has twenty-two sections 
and is on taxation and finance. 

Article XIV. — This article has six sections, and it is 
devoted to miscellaneous subjects. It provides that every 
householder or head of a family can hold a homestead 
valued at two thousand dollars free from seizure on ac- 
count of any debts, except those for the purchase price 
of the property, for the services of a laboring man 
or a mechanic, for taxes, for the legal or taxable fees of 
a public officer, for liabilities incurred as a public officer, 
as an officer of a court, or as a fiduciary, and for rent for 
the property or for mortgages on it. It also guarantees to 
the children of former slaves the right to inherit property 
from their fathers. 

Article XV. — This article which has but two sections 
tells how future changes can be made in the constitution. 

i. For amendments, the following method is adopted: 
Any amendment to the constitution may be proposed in 
the Senate or House of Delegates, and if agreed to by 



QUESTIONS 113 

a majority of the members elected to each house, it is to 
be referred to the General Assembly, to be chosen at the 
next general election of senators and members of the 
House of Delegates. Before this election, the proposed 
amendment must be published for three months. If 
agreed to by a majority of all the members elected to the 
General Assembly to which it is referred, it is submitted 
after this to the qualified voters, and, if ratified by them, 
it becomes a part of the constitution. 

2. For its own revision, the Constitution provides that 
the question " Shall there be a convention to revise the 
constitution and amend the same ? " shall be submitted to 
the qualified voters of the state, whenever the General 
Assembly decides, by a recorded vote of a majority of 
the members elected to each House, that this shall be done. 
Then if a majority of the voters are in favor of a con- 
vention, the General Assembly shall at its next session 
provide by law for the election of delegates to such con- 
vention. 

QUESTIONS 



What is a constitutional government? 

What honor belongs to Virginia? 

At what time did she declare herself to be an independ- 
ent commonwealth? 

What may her Bill of Rights be called? 

How many times has Virginia's constitution been re- 
vised? 

What does the introduction contain? 

What declaration is made in the first part of the con- 
stitution ? 

Mention some of the rights upon which republican free- 
dom is founded. 



114 THE GOVERNMENT OF VIRGINIA IN OUTLINE 

9. Into what three departments does the constitution re- 
quire the government to be divided? 

10. In what officers is the executive power chiefly vested? 

11. In what is the legislative department vested? 

12. What courts compose the judicial department? 

13. Does the constitution provide for county organization? 

14. Does it make provisions for the public school system? 

15. What property is every householder -allowed to retain 

free from seizure for debt? 

16. What right is guaranteed by the constitution to the 

children of former slaves? 

17. How can amendments to the constitution be made? 

18. What is meant by the schedule of the constitution? 



CHAPTER XIII 
RELATIONS OF THE STATE AND THE NATION 

The State and the Nation. — Each state is independ- 
ent in its own sphere of action, but is subordinate to 
the national government. The supreme law for the whole 
country is to be found in the Constitution, in the laws, 
and in the treaties of the United States. No state has 
power to annul these. The Civil War settled the much- 
disputed question of the relations of the state and the na- 
tion, and the decision was in favor of the supremacy of 
the nation. 

Each State takes Part in the National Government. 
— Each state, as a constituent member of the Union, 
takes part in carrying on the national government. The 
people of each elect members to the national House of 
Representatives, the legislature of each elects national 
senators, and each state appoints its share of the electors 
of the president and vice president. 

The National House of Representatives. — Represent- 
atives of the national House are apportioned by Con- 
gress among the states in proportion to population, once 
in ten years, and for their election the law directs that 
each state shall be divided into districts, contiguous in 
territory, and as nearly equal in inhabitants as possible. 
The boundaries of these districts are fixed by the state 
legislature, and each district chooses one representative. 



Il6 RELATIONS OF THE STATE AND THE NATION 

The last apportionment of representatives was made in 
1890, and it gave Virginia ten. Elections of representa- 
tives are held every two years in all the states on Tues- 
day after the first Monday in November, these elections 
occurring in 1896, 1898, etc. If a vacancy occurs in the 
office of representative, a special election is ordered by 
the governor to fill it. 

United States Senators. — In the Senate of the United 
States, all the states are equal in power. Each is en- 
titled to two members, who are elected by the legislature 
and serve for a term of six years. 

Presidential Electors. — The president and vice presi- 
dent are elected by electors chosen by the states. Each 
state has as many of these as it has senators and repre- 
sentatives in Congress, and so Virginia is entitled to 
twelve. The method of selecting presidential electors is 
fixed by each state, but at the present time they are 
chosen in all the states by popular vote. By a law of 
Congress all presidential electors are appointed on Tues- 
day after the first Monday in November, the elections 
occurring at intervals of four years, 1896, 1900, etc. 

Method of holding National Elections. — National 
elections are conducted by the state officers, and upon the 
same method as the state prescribes for holding its own 
elections. The qualifications of voters are also the same 
as those prescribed for state elections. 

The State Militia. — The Constitution of the United 
States gives Congress authority to organize, arm, and 
discipline the state militia, and to direct its movements 
when employed in the national service for executing the 



QUESTIONS 117 

laws of the Union, for suppressing insurrections, and for 
repelling invasion. 

Reciprocal Duties of the State and the Nation. — 
The state and the nation should faithfully discharge the 
duties that one owes to the other. The state should 
elect senators, representatives, and presidential electors, 
and cordially cooperate with the nation in all efforts 
made to secure good government. The nation should, on 
its part, give to all the states alike adequate protection. 
The Constitution of the United States requires the nation 
to guarantee to every state in the Union a republican form 
of government, and to protect each one of them against 
invasion and against domestic violence also, when called 
on by the state authorities to do so. 

Powers of Government delegated. — The states, in 
forming the nation, delegated some powers to the na- 
tional government, the chief ones being the powers to 
coin money, to carry on a mail service, to make tariff 
laws, to grant patents and copyrights, to declare war, and 
to support a navy. Such powers as these belong to the 
national government. 

QUESTIONS 

In what sphere is a state independent, and to what is it 
subordinate? 

What disputed question did the Civil War settle, and 
what was the decision reached? 

What does the present constitution of Virginia declare 
in regard to the state? 

How do the peQple in each state take part in the na- 
tional government? 

In what way are members of the national House of Rep- 
resentatives apportioned among the states? 



Il8 RELATIONS OF THE STATE AND THE NATION 

6. What does the law direct in regard to districts? 

7. How are the boundaries of districts fixed, and how many 

representatives are chosen from each district? 

8. How many representatives has Virginia, and when are 

they elected? 

9. How many members is each state entitled to have in the 

United States Senate? 

10. How are the president and the vice president elected? 

11. How many presidential electors has each state? 

12. What is the method of electing the presidential electors? 

13. At what time do these elections occur, and at what 

intervals? 

14. What is the method of holding national elections? 

15. What authority has Congress in regard to the state 

militia? 

16. What are the reciprocal duties of the state and of the 

nation? 

17. What powers are delegated by the states to the nation? 



APPENDIX 



GOVERNMENT OF STATE INSTITUTIONS 

Virginia is well supplied with educational, humane, and penal 
institutions, as the following list will show : — 

The University of Virginia, Charlottesville. — Governing au- 
thority, a board of nine visitors, appointed by the governor with the 
consent of the Senate ; they hold office for four years, but do not 
all go out at the same time. They elect one of their number rector. 

The Virginia Military Institute, Lexington. — Governing- 
authority, a board of eleven visitors, nine of whom are 
appointed by the governor subject to confirmation by the Senate; 
they hold office for three years, but do not all go out at the same 
time. The adjutant general and the superintendent of public 
instruction are the other members of the board. 

Virginia Polytechnic Institute. — Governing authority, a board 
of nine visitors, eight of whom are appointed by the governor 
with the advice and consent of the Senate ; they hold office for 
four years, but do not all go out at the same time. The superin- 
tendent of public instruction is ex officio a member of the board, 
making a ninth. 

College of William and Mary and State Normal School, Wil- 
liamsburg. — Governing authority, ten visitors provided for in the 
charter of William and Mary College, who fill all vacancies in 
their number, and ten additional and associate visitors appointed 
by the governor who fill any vacancies among the associate visit- 
ors. The ten visitors and the ten associate visitors constitute the 
board of visitors. 

The State Female Normal School, Farmville. — Governing 
authority, a board of fourteen visitors. The superintendent of 
public instruction is ex officio a member of the board. Vacancies 
in the board are filled by the governor. 

The Virginia School for the Deaf and the Blind, Staunton. — 
Governing authority, a board of seven visitors appointed by the 
governor subject to confirmation by the Senate; they hold office 
for three years, but do not all go out at one time. 

The Miller Manual Labor School of Albemarle. — The gov- 

119 



120 APPENDIX 

ernor, the attorney general, the superintendent of public instruc- 
tion, and the second auditor constitute the board of trust of the 
Miller Fund, which endows the school. The school is managed and 
controlled through the agency of the county court of Albemarle. 

The Hampton Normal and Agricultural Institute. — Governing 
authority, a board of trustees, never less than nine nor more than 
seventeen. The board fills its own vacancies. This school is for 
the benefit of colored persons and Indians of both sexes. 

The Virginia Normal and Collegiate Institute, Petersburg. — 
Governing authority, nine visitors, eight of whom are appointed 
by the governor with the consent of the Senate ; they hold office 
for four years. The superintendent of public instruction is 
ex officio a member of the board, making the tenth. This institu- 
tion is designed for the higher education of colored youth. 

Humane Institutions. — Virginia has four institutions where 
patients suffering from mental derangement are cared for and 
skillfully treated : the Western State Hospital, Staunton ; the 
Eastern State Hospital, Williamsburg ; the Southwestern State 
Hospital, Marion ; and the Central State Hospital, Petersburg 
(for colored patients). The governing authority of each of these 
is a board of nine directors, appointed by the governor with the 
advice and consent of the Senate ; they hold office for three 
years, but do not all go out at once. 

Almshouses. — Every county and corporation is required to 
make provision for the needy. The county poorhouse is gen- 
erally on a farm furnished by the county. 

Penal Institutions. — The penitentiary at Richmond is under the 
care of a superintendent and a board of directors. The superin- 
tendent is elected by the legislature, and the directors are 
appointed by the governor. Every county has a jail, and so have 
all cities and large towns. The county jails are under the con- 
trol of the sheriffs, and those in cities and towns under the care 
of sergeants. 

The Laurel Industrial School. — This institution was opened in 
1890 by the Prison Association of Virginia. Insubordinate and 
bad white boys are received at this school, and are thus saved 
from the degradation of prison life. The purpose of the school 
is to reform and educate those committed to its care, and to help 
them to become intelligent, honest, and industrious citizens of the 
commonwealth. 



JUDICIAL CIRCUITS 

Virginia is divided into twenty- four judicial circuits, as follows: 

First Circuit. — The counties of Norfolk, Princess -Anne, and the 
city of Portsmouth. 

Second Circuit. — The counties of Nansemond, Southampton, Isle 
of Wight, and the city of Norfolk. 

Third Circuit. — The counties of Prince George, Surry, Sussex, 
Greensville, and Brunswick. 

Fourth Circuit. — The counties of Chesterfield, Powhatan, Din- 
widdie, Nottoway, and Amelia, and the city of Petersburg. 

Fifth Circuit. — The counties of Prince Edward, Cumberland, 
Buckingham, Appomattox, and Charlotte. 

Sixth Circuit. — The counties of Lunenburg, Mecklenburg, Hali- 
fax, Campbell, and the city of Lynchburg. 

Seventh Circuit. — The counties of Pittsylvania, Franklin, Henry, 
and Patrick, and the city of Danville. 

Eighth Circuit. — The counties of Amherst, Nelson, Albemarle, 
Fluvanna, and Goochland. 

Ninth Circuit. — The counties of Rappahannock, Culpeper, Madi- 
son, Greene, Orange, and Louisa. 

Tenth Circuit. — The county of Henrico and the city of Richmond. 

Eleventh Circuit. — The counties of Accomac, Northampton, 
Elizabeth City, and the city of Newport News. 

Twelfth Circuit. — The counties of Richmond, Northumberland, 
Westmoreland, Lancaster, and Essex. 

Thirteenth Circuit. — The counties of Gloucester, Mathews, King 
and Queen, King William, and Middlesex. 

Fourteenth Circuit. — ■ The counties of New Kent, Charles City, 
York, Warwick, James City, and the city of Williamsburg. 

Fifteenth Circuit. — The counties of King George, Stafford, Spot- 
sylvania, Caroline, and Hanover. 

Sixteenth Circuit. — The counties of Fauquier, Loudoun, Prince 
William, Fairfax, and Alexandria, and the city of Alexandria. 

121 



122 APPENDIX 

Seventeenth Circuit. — The counties of Frederick, Clarke, Warren, 

Shenandoah, and Page. 
Eighteenth Circuit. — The counties of Rockingham, Augusta, and 

Rockbridge. 
Nineteenth Circuit. — The counties of Highland, Bath, Alleghany, 

Craig, and Botetourt. 
Twentieth Circuit. — The counties of Bedford, Roanoke, Mont- 
gomery, and Floyd, and the city of Roanoke. 
Twenty-first Circuit. — The counties of Pulaski, Carroll, Wythe, 

and Grayson. 
Tzventy-second Circuit. — The counties of Bland, Tazewell, Giles, 

and Buchanan. 
Twenty-third Circuit. — The counties of Washington, Russell, 

and Smyth. 
Twenty-fourth Circuit. — The counties of Scott, Lee, Wise, and 

Dickenson. 



CONSTITUTION OF VIRGINIA, 1901-2 

Whereas, pursuant to an act of the General Assembly of 
Virginia, approved March the fifth, in the year of our Lord 
nineteen hundred, the question, " shall there be a convention 
to revise the Constitution and amend the same?" was sub- 
mitted to the electors of the State of Virginia, qualified to 
vote for members of the General Assembly, at an election 
held throughout the State on the fourth Thursday in May, 
in the year nineteen hundred, at which election a majority 
of the electors so qualified voting at said election did decide 
in favor of a convention for such purpose; and, - 

Whereas, the General Assembly at its next session did pro- 
vide by law for the election of delegates to such convention, 
in pursuance whereof the members of this Convention were 
elected by the good people of Virginia, to meet in convention 
for such purpose. 

We, therefore, the people of Virginia, so assembled in 
Convention through our representatives, with gratitude to 
God for His past favors, and invoking His blessings upon the 
result of our deliberations, do ordain and establish the fol- 
lowing revised and amended Constitution for the government 
of the Commonwealth: 

ARTICLE I. 

BILL OF RIGHTS. 

A DECLARATION OF RIGHTS, made by the representatives 
of the good people of Virginia assembled in full and free 
Convention; which rights do pertain to them and their 
posterity, as the Basis and Foundation of Government. 

Section i. That all men are by nature equally free and 
independent, and have certain inherent rights, of which, when 

123 



124 APPENDIX 

they enter into a state of society, they cannot, by any com- 
pact, deprive or divest their posterity; namely, the enjoyment 
of life and liberty, with the means of acquiring and possessing 
property, and pursuing and obtaining happiness and safety. 

Sec. 2. That all power is vested in, and consequently de- 
rived from, the people; that magistrates are their trustees and 
servants, and at all times amenable to them. 

Sec. 3. That government is, or ought to be, instituted for 
the common benefit, protection and security of the people, 
nation or community; of all the various modes and forms of 
government, that is best, which is capable of producing the 
greatest degree of happiness and safety, and is most effectu- 
ally secured against the danger of maladministration; and, 
whenever any government shall be found inadequate or con- 
trary to these purposes, a majority of the community hath an 
indubitable, inalienable, and indefeasible right to reform, alter 
or abolish it, in such manner as shall be judged most con- 
ducive to the public weal. 

Sec. 4. That no man, or set of men, is entitled to exclusive 
or separate emoluments or privileges from the community, 
but in consideration of public services; which not being de- 
scendible, neither ought the offices of magistrate, legislator or 
judge to be hereditary. 

Sec 5. That the legislative, executive, and judicial depart- 
ments of the State should be separate and distinct; and that 
the members thereof may be restrained from oppression, by 
feeling and participating in the burthens of the people, they 
should, at fixed periods, be reduced to a private station, return 
into that body from which they were originally taken, and 
the vacancies be supplied by regular elections, in which all or 
any part of the former members shall be again eligible, or 
ineligible, as the laws may direct. 

Sec. 6. That all elections ought to be free; and that all men, 
having sufficient evidence of permanent common interest 
with, and attachment to, the community, have the right of suf- 
frage, and cannot be taxed, or deprived of, or damaged in, 
their property for public uses, without their own consent, or 
that of their representatives duly elected, or bound by any 
law to which they have not, in like manner, assented for the 
public good. 



CONSTITUTION OF VIRGINIA 1 25 

Sec. 7. That all power of suspending laws, or the execution 
of laws, by any authority, without consent of the representa- 
tives of the people, is injurious to their rights, and ought not 
to be exercised. 

Sec. 8. That no man shall be deprived of his life, or liberty, 
except by the law of the land, or the judgment of his peers; 
nor shall any man be compelled in any criminal proceeding 
to give evidence against himself, nor be put twice in jeopardy 
for the same offence, but an appeal may be allowed to the 
Commonwealth in all prosecutions for the violation of a law 
relating to the state revenue. 

That in all criminal prosecutions a man hath a right to 
demand the cause and nature of his accusation, to be con- 
fronted with the accusers and witnesses, to call for evidence in 
his favor, and to a speedy trial by an impartial jury of his 
vicinage, without whose unanimous consent he cannot be 
found guilty; provided, however, that in any criminal case, 
upon a plea of guilty, tendered in person by the accused, and 
with the consent of the attorney for the Commonwealth, en- 
tered of record, the court shall, and in a prosecution for an of- 
fence not punishable by death, or confinement in the peniten- 
tiary, upon a plea of not guilty, with the consent of the accused, 
given in person, and of the attorney for the Commonwealth, 
both entered of record, the court, in its discretion, may hear 
and determine the case, without the intervention of a jury; 
and, that the General Assembly may provide for the trial of 
offences not punishable by death, or confinement in the peni- 
tentiary, by a justice of the peace, without a jury, preserving 
in all such cases, the right of the accused to an appeal to and 
trial by jury in the circuit or corporation court; and may also 
provide for juries consisting of less than twelve, but not less 
than five, for the trial of offences not punishable by death, or 
confinement in the penitentiary, and may classify such cases, 
and prescribe the number of jurors for each class. 

Sec 9. That excessive bail ought not to be required, nor 
excessive fines imposed, nor cruel and unusual punishments 
inflicted. 

Sec. 10. That general warrants, whereby an officer or mes- 
senger may be commanded to search suspected places without 
evidence of a fact committed, or to seize any person or per- 



126 APPENDIX 

sons not named, or whose offence is not particularly described 
and supported by evidence, are grievous and oppressive, and 
ought not to be granted. 

Sec. ii. That no person shall be deprived of his property 
without due process of law; and in controversies respecting 
property, and in suits between man and man, trial by jury is 
preferable to any other, and ought to be held sacred; but the 
General Assembly may limit the number of jurors for civil 
cases in circuit and corporation courts to not less than five 
in cases now cognizable by justices of the peace, or to not 
less than seven in cases not so cognizable. 

Sec 12. That the freedom of the press is one of the great 
bulwarks of liberty, and can never be restrained but by 
despotic governments; and any citizen may freely speak, 
write and publish his sentiments on all subjects, being re- 
sponsible for the abuse of that right. 

Sec. 13. That a well-regulated militia, composed of the 
body of the people, trained to arms, is the proper, natural and 
safe defence of a free state; that standing armies, in time of 
peace should be avoided as dangerous to liberty; and that in 
in cases now cognizable by justices of the peace, or to not 
and governed by, the civil power. 

Sec. 14. That the people have a right to uniform govern- 
ment; and, therefore, that no government separate from, or 
independent of, the government of Virginia, ought to be 
erected or established within the limits thereof. 

Sec. 15. That no free government, or the blessing of lib- 
erty, can be preserved to any people, but by a firm adherence 
to justice, moderation, temperance, frugality and virtue, and 
by frequent recurrence to fundamental principles. 

Sec 16. That religion, or the duty which we owe to our 
Creator, and the manner of discharging it, can be directed 
only by reason and conviction, not by force or violence; and, 
therefore, all men are equally entitled to the free exercise of 
religion, according to the dictates of conscience; and that it 
is the mutual duty of all to practice Christian forbearance, love 
and charity towards each other. 

Sec 17. The rights enumerated in this Bill of Rights shall 
not be construed to limit other rights of the people not there- 
in expressed. 



CONSTITUTION OF VIRGINIA 1 27 

ARTICLE II. 

ELECTIVE FRANCHISE AND QUALIFICATIONS FOR OFFICE. 

Sec. 18. Every male citizen of the United States, twenty- 
one years of age, who has been a resident of the State two 
years, of the county, city, or town one year, and of the pre- 
cinct in which he offers to vote, thirty days, next preceding 
the election in which he offers to vote, has been registered, 
and has paid his state poll taxes, as hereinafter required, shall 
be entitled to vote for members of the General Assembly and 
all officers elective by the people; but removal from one pre- 
cinct to another, in the same county, city or town shall not 
deprive any person of his right to vote in the precinct from 
which he has moved, until the expiration of thirty days after 
such removal. 

Sec. 19. There shall be general registrations in the coun- 
ties, cities and towns of the State during the years nineteen 
hundred and two and nineteen hundred and three at such 
times and in such manner as may be prescribed by an ordi- 
nance of this Convention. At such registrations every male 
citizen of the United States having the qualifications of age 
and residence required in section Eighteen shall be entitled 
to register, if he be: 

First. A person who, prior to the adoption of this Con- 
stitution, served in time of war in the army or navy of the 
United States, of the Confederate States, or of any state of 
the United States or of the Confederate States; or, 

Second. A son of any such person; or, 

Third. A person, who owns property, upon which, for the 
year next preceding that in which he offers to register, state 
taxes aggregating at least one dollar have been paid; or, 

Fourth. A person able to read any section of this Consti- 
tution submitted to him by the officers of registration and 
to give a reasonable explanation of the same; or, if unable to 
read such section, able to understand and give a reasonable 
explanation thereof when read to him by the officers. 

A roll containing the names of all persons thus registered, 
sworn to and certified by the officers of registration, shall be 
filed, for record and preservation, in the clerk's 'office of the 



128 APPENDIX 

circuit court of the county, or the clerk's office of the corpo- 
ration court of the city, as the case may be. Persons thus 
enrolled shall not be required to register again, unless they 
shall have ceased to be residents of the State, or become dis- 
qualified by section Twenty-three. Any person denied regis- 
tration under this section shall have the right of appeal to the 
circuit court of his county, or the corporation court of his 
city, or to the judge thereof in vacation. 

Sec. 20. After the first day of January, nineteen hundred 
and four, every male citizen of the United States, having the 
qualifications of age and residence required in section Eight- 
een, shall be entitled to register, provided: 

First. That he has personally paid to the proper officer all 
state poll taxes assessed or assessable against him, under this 
or the former Constitution, for the three years next preceding 
that in which he offers to register; or, if he come of age at 
such time that no poll tax shall have been assessable against 
him for the year preceding the year in which he offers to 
register, has paid one dollar and fifty cents, in satisfaction of 
the first year's poll tax assessable against him; and, 

Second. That, unless physically unable, he make applica- 
tion to register in his own hand-writing, without aid, sug- 
gestion, or memorandum, in the presence of the registration 
officers, stating therein his name, age, date and place of birth, 
residence and occupation at the time and for the two years 
next preceding, and whether he has previously voted, and, if 
so, the state, county, and precinct in which he voted last; and, 

Third. That he answer on oath any and all questions 
affecting his qualifications as an elector, submitted to him 
by the officers of registration, which questions, and his 
answers thereto, shall be reduced to writing, certified by the 
said officers, and preserved as a part of their official records. 

Sec. 21. Any person registered under either of the last two 
sections, shall have the -right to vote for members of the 
General Assembly and all officers elective by the people, sub- 
ject to the following conditions: 

That he, unless exempted by section Twenty-two, shall, as a 
prerequisite to the right to vote after the first day of Janu- 
ary, nineteen hundred and four, personally pay, at least six 
months prior to the election, all state poll taxes assessed or 



CONSTITUTION OF VIRGINIA 1 29 

assessable against him, under this Constitution, during the 
three years next preceding that in which he offers to vote; 
provided that, if he register after the first day of January, 
nineteen hundred and four, he shall, unless physically unable, 
prepare and deposit his ballot without aid, on such printed 
form as the law may prescribe; but any voter registered prior 
to that date may be aided in the preparation of his ballot by 
such officer of election as he himself may designate. 

Sec, 22. No person who, during the late war between the 
States, served in the army or navy of the United States, or 
the Confederate States, or any state of the United States, or of 
the Confederate States, shall at any time be required to pay 
a poll tax as a prerequisite to the right to register or vote. 
The collection of the state poll tax assessed against any one 
shall not be enforced by legal process until the same has be- 
come three years past due. 

Sec. 23. The following persons shall be excluded from 
registering and voting: Idiots, insane persons, and paupers; 
persons who, prior to the adoption of this Constitution, were 
disqualified from voting, by conviction of crime, either within 
or without this State, and whose disabilities shall not have 
been removed; persons convicted after the adoption of this 
Constitution, either within or without this State, of treason, 
or of any felony, bribery, petit larceny, obtaining money 
or property under false pretences, embezzlement, forgery, or 
perjury; persons who, while citizens of this State, after the 
adoption of this Constitution, have fought a duel with a 
deadly weapon, or sent or accepted a challenge to fight such 
duel, either within or without this State, or knowingly con- 
veyed a challenge, or aided or assisted in any way in the fight- 
ing of such duel. 

Sec. 24. No officer, soldier, seaman, or marine of the 
United States army or navy shall be deemed to have gained a 
residence as to the right of suffrage, in the State, or in any 
county, city or town thereof, by reason of being stationed 
therein; nor shall an inmate of any charitable institution or a 
student in any institution of learning, be regarded as having 
either gained or lost a residence, as to the right of suffrage, 
by reason of his location or sojourn in such institution. 

Sec. 25. The General Assembly shall provide for the an- 



130 APPENDIX 

nual registration of voters under section Twenty, for an 
appeal by any person denied registration, for the correction 
of illegal or fraudulent registration, thereunder, and also for 
the proper transfer of all voters registered under this Con- 
stitution. 

Sec. 26. Any person who, in respect to age or residence, 
would be qualified to vote at the next election, shall be ad- 
mitted to registration, notwithstanding that at the time there- 
of he is not so qualified, and shall be entitled to vote at said 
election if then qualified under the provisions of this Consti- 
tution. 

Sec. 2j. All elections by the people shall be by ballot; all 
elections by any representative body shall be zfiva voce, and 
the vote recorded in the journal thereof. 

The ballot-box shall be kept in public view during all elec- 
tions, and shall not be opened, nor the ballots canvassed or 
counted, in secret. 

So far as consistent with the provisions of this Constitution, 
the absolute secrecy of the ballot shall be maintained. 

Sec. 28. The General Assembly shall provide for ballots 
without any distinguishing mark or symbol, for use in all 
state, county, city, and other elections by the people, and the 
form thereof shall be the same in all places where any such 
election is held. All ballots shall contain the names of the 
candidates, and of the offices to be filled, in clear print and in 
due and orderly succession; but any voter may erase any 
name and insert another. 

Sec. 29. No voter, during the time of holding any election 
at which he is entitled to vote, shall be compelled to perform 
military service, except in time of war or public danger; to 
attend any court as suitor, juror, or witness, and no voter 
shall be subject to arrest under any civil process during his 
attendance at election or in going to or returning therefrom. 

Sec. 30. The General Assembly may prescribe a property 
qualification not exceeding two hundred and fifty dollars for 
voters in any county or subdivision thereof, or city or town, 
as a prerequisite for voting in any election for officers, 
other than the members of the General Assembly, to be 
wholly elected by the voters of such county or subdivision 
thereof, or city, or town, such action, if taken, to be had 



CONSTITUTION OF VIRGINIA I3I 

upon the initiative of a representative in the General Assem- 
bly of the county, city or town affected: provided, that the 
General Assembly in its discretion may make such exemptions 
from the operation of said property qualification as shall not 
be in conflict with the Constitution of the United States. 

Sec. 31. There shall be in each county and city an electoral 
board, composed of three members, appointed by the circuit 
court of the county or the corporation court of the city, or the 
judge of the court in vacation. Of those first appointed, one 
shall be appointed for a term of one year, one for a term of 
two years, and one for a term of three years; and thereafter 
their successors shall be appointed for the full term of three 
years. Any vacancy occurring in any board shall be filled by 
the same authority for the unexpired term. 

Each electoral board shall appoint the judges, clerks, and 
registrars of election for its county or city; and, in appointing 
judges of election, representation as far as possible shall be 
given to each of the two political parties which, at the general 
election next preceding their appointment, cast the highest 
and next highest number of votes. 

No person, nor the deputy of any person, holding any office 
or post of profit or emolument, under the United States Gov- 
ernment, or who is in the employment of such government, or 
holding any elective office of profit or trust in the State, or 
in any county, city, or town thereof, shall be appointed a 
member of the electoral board, or registrar, or judge of 
election. 

Sec. 32. Every person qualified to vote shall be eligible to 
any office of the State, or of any county, city, town, or other 
subdivision of the State, wherein he resides, except as other- 
wise provided in this Constitution, and except that this pro- 
vision as to residence shall not apply to any office elective 
by the people where the law provides otherwise. Men and 
women eighteen years of age shall be eligible to the office of 
notary public, and qualified to execute the bonds required of 
them in that capacity. 

Sec. 33. The terms of all officers elected under this Con- 
stitution shall begin on the first day of February next suc- 
ceeding their election, unless otherwise provided in this Con- 
stitution. All officers, elected or appointed, shall continue 



132 APPENDIX 

to discharge the duties of their offices after their terms of 
service have expired until their successors have qualified. 

Sec. Members of the General Assembly and all officers, 
executive and judicial, elected or appointed after this Consti- 
tution goes into effect, shall, before they enter on the per- 
formance of their public duties, severally take and subscribe 
the following oath or affirmation: 

" I do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will support the 
Constitution of the United States, and the Constitution q| 
the State of Virginia ordained by the Convention which 
assembled in the city of Richmond on the twelfth day of 
June, nineteen hundred and one, and that I will faithfully and 
impartially discharge and perform all the duties incumbent on 

me as , according to the best of my ability; so 

help me God." 

Sec. 35. No person shall vote at any legalized primary 
election for the nomination of any candidate for office unless 
he is at the time registered and qualified to vote at the next 
succeeding election. 

Sec. 36. The General Assembly shall enact such laws as 
are necessary and proper for the purpose of securing the reg- 
ularity and purity of general, local and primary elections, and 
preventing and punishing any corrupt practices in connection 
therewith; and shall have power, in addition to other penal- 
ties and punishments now or hereafter prescribed by law for 
such offences, to provide that persons convicted of them shall 
thereafter be disqualified from voting or holding office. 

Sec. 37. The General Assembly may provide for the use, 
throughout the State or in any one or more counties, cities, 
or towns in any election, of machines for receiving, record- 
ing, and counting the votes cast thereat: provided, that the 
secrecy of the voting be not thereby impaired. 

Sec. 38. After the first day of January, nineteen hundred 
and four, the treasurer of each county and city shall, at least 
five months before each regular election, file with the clerk 
of the circuit court of his county, or of the corporation court 
of his city, a list of all persons in his county or city, who 
have paid not later than six months prior to such election, the 
state poll taxes required by this Constitution during the three 
years next preceding that in which such election is held; 



1 CONSTITUTION OF VIRGINIA 1 33 

which list shall be arranged alphabetically, by magisterial 
districts or wards, shall state the white and colored persons 
separately, and shall be verified by the oath of the treasurer. 
The clerk, within ten days from the receipt of the list, shall 
make and certify a sufficient number of copies thereof, and 
shall deliver one copy for each voting place in his county 
or city, to the sheriff of the county or sergeant of the city, 
whose duty it shall be to post one copy, without delay, at each 
of the voting-places, and, within ten days from the receipt 
thereof, to make return on oath to the clerk, as to the places 
where and dates at which said copies were respectively 
posted; which return the clerk shall record in a book kept in 
his office for the purpose; and he shall keep in his office for 
public inspection, for at least sixty days after receiving the 
list, not less than ten certified copies thereof, and also cause 
the list to be published in such other manner as may be pre- 
scribed by law; the original list returned by the treasurer 
shall' be filed and preserved by the clerk among the public 
records of his office for at least five years after receiving the 
same. Within thirty days after the list has been so posted, 
any person who shall have paid his capitation tax, but whose 
name is omitted from the certified list, may, after five days' 
written notice to the treasurer, apply to the circuit court of his 
county, or corporation court of his city, or to the judge there- 
of in vacation, to have the same corrected and his name 
entered thereon, which application the court or judge shall 
promptly hear and decide. 

The clerk shall deliver, or cause to be delivered, with the 
poll-books, at a reasonable time before every election, to one 
of the judges of election of each precinct of his county or 
city, a like certified copy of the list, which shall be conclusive 
evidence of the facts therein stated for the purpose of voting. 
The clerk shall also, within sixty days after the filing of the 
list by the treasurer, forward a certified copy thereof, with 
such corrections as may have been made by order of the 
court or judge, to the Auditor of Public Accounts, who shall 
charge the amount of the poll taxes stated therein to such 
treasurer unless previously accounted for. 

Further evidence of the prepayment of the capitation taxes 
required by this Constitution, as a prerequisite to the right 
to register and vote may be prescribed by law. 



134 APPENDIX 

ARTICLE III. 

DIVISION OF POWERS. 

Sec. 39. Except as hereinafter provided, the legislative, 
executive, and judiciary departments shall be separate and 
distinct, so that neither exercise the powers properly belong- 
ing to either of the others, nor any person exercise the power 
of more than one of them at the same time. 

ARTICLE IV. 

LEGISLATIVE DEPARTMENT. 

Sec. 40. The legislative power of the State shall be vested 
in a General Assembly, which shall consist of a Senate and 
House of Delegates. 

Sec. 41. The Senate shall consist of not more than forty 
and not less than thirty-three members, who shall be elected 
quadrennially by the voters of the several senatorial districts, 
on the Tuesday succeeding the first Monday in November. 

Sec. 42. The House of Delegates shall consist of not more 
than one hundred and not less than ninety members, who 
shall be elected biennially by the voters of the several house 
districts, on the Tuesday succeeding the first Monday in 
November. 

Sec 43. The apportionment of the State into senatorial 
and house districts, made by the acts of the General Assem- 
bly, approved April the second, nineteen hundred* and two, is 
hereby adopted; but a re-apportionment may be made in the 
year nineteen hundred and six, and shall be made in the year 
nineteen hundred and twelve, and every tenth year thereafter. 

Sec 44. Any person may be elected senator who, at the 
time of election, is actually a resident of the senatorial district 
and qualified to vote for members of the General Assembly; 
and any person may be elected a member of the House of 
Delegates who, at the time of election, is actually a resident 
of the house district and qualified to vote for members of the 
General Assembly. But no person holding a salaried office 
under the state government, and no judge of any court, at- 
torney for the Commonwealth, sheriff, sergeant, treasurer, 



CONSTITUTION OF VIRGINIA 1 35 

assessor of taxes, commissioner of the revenue, collector of 
taxes, or clerk of any court, shall be a member of either house 
of the General Assembly during his continuance in office, and 
the election of any such person to either house of the General 
Assembly, and his qualification as a member thereof, shall 
vacate any such office held by him; and no person holding any 
office or post of profit or emolument under the United States 
Government or who is in the employment of such govern- 
ment, shall be eligible to either house. The removal of a 
senator or delegate from the district for which he is elected, 
shall vacate his office. 

Sec. 45. The members of the General Assembly shall re- 
ceive for their services a salary to be fixed by law and paid 
from the public treasury; but no act increasing such salary 
shall take effect until after the end of the term for which the 
members voting thereon were elected; and no member dur- 
ing the term for which he shall have been elected, shall be 
appointed or elected to any civil office of profit in the State 
except offices filled by election by the people. 

Sec. 46. The General Assembly shall meet once in two 
years on the second Wednesday in January next succeeding 
the election of the members of the House of Delegates and 
not oftener unless convened in the manner prescribed by this 
Constitution. No session of the General Assembly, after the 
first under this Constitution, shall continue longer than sixty 
days; but with the concurrence of three-fifths of the members 
elected to each house, the session may be extended for a 
period not exceeding thirty days. Except for the first session 
held under this Constitution, members shall be allowed a 
salary for not exceeding sixty days at any regular session, and 
for not exceeding thirty days at any extra session. Neither 
house shall, without the consent of the other, adjourn to an- 
other place nor for more than three days. A majority of the 
members elected to each house shall constitute a quorum to 
do business, but a smaller number may adjourn from day to 
day, and shall have power to compel the attendance of mem- 
bers in such manner and under such penalty as each house 
may prescribe. 

Sec. 47. The House of Delegates shall choose its own 
speaker; and, in the absence of the Lieutenant-Governor, or 



I36 APPENDIX 

when he shall exercise the office of Governor, the Senate 
shall choose from their own body a president pro tempore. 
Each house shall select its officers, settle its rules of pro- 
cedure, and direct writs of election for supplying vacancies 
which may occur during the session of the General Assembly; 
but, if vacancies occur during the recess, such writs may be 
issued by the Governor, under such regulations as may be 
prescribed by law. Each house shall judge of the election, 
qualification, and returns of its members; may punish them 
for disorderly behavior, and, with the concurrence of two- 
thirds, expel a member. 

Sec. 48. Members of the General Assembly shall, in all 
cases, except treason, felony, or breach of the peace, be 
privileged from arrest during the sessions of their respective 
houses; and for any speech or debate in either house shall 
not be questioned in any other place. They shall not be 
subject to arrest, under any civil process, during the sessions 
of the General Assembly, or the fifteen days next before the 
beginning or after the ending of any session. 

Sec. 49. Each house shall keep a journal of its proceedings, 
which shall be published from time to time, and the yeas and 
nays of the members of either house on any question shall, 
at the desire of one-fifth of those present, be entered on the 
journal. 

Sec. 50. No law shall be enacted except by bill. A bill may 
originate in either house, to be approved or rejected by the 
other, or may be amended by either, with the concurrence 
of the other. 

No bill shall become a law unless, prior to its passage, it has 
been, 

(a) Referred to a committee of each house, considered by 
such committee in session, and reported; 

(b) Printed by the house, in which it originated, prior to 
its passage therein; 

(c) Read at length on three different calendar days in each 
house; and unless, 

(d) A yea and nay vote has been taken in each house upon 
its final passage, the names of the members voting for and 
against entered on the journal, and a majority of those voting, 
which shall include at least two-fifths of the members elected 
to each house, recorded in the affirmative. 



CONSTITUTION OF VIRGINIA I37 

And only in the manner required in subdivision (d) of this 
section shall an amendment to a bill by one house be con- 
curred in by the other, or a conference report be adopted by 
either house, or either house discharge a committee from the 
consideration of a bill and consider the same as if reported; 
provided that the printing and reading, or either, required in 
subdivisions (b) and (c) of this section, may be dispensed 
with in a bill to codify the laws of the State, and in any case 
of emergency by a vote of four-fifths of the members voting 
in each house taken by the yeas and nays, the names of the 
members voting for and against, entered on the journal; and 
provided further, that no bill which creates, or establishes a 
new office, or which creates, continues, or revives a debt or 
charge, or makes, continues or revives any appropriation of 
public or trust money, or property, or releases, discharges or 
commutes any claim or demand of the State, or which imposes, 
continues or revives a tax, shall be passed except by the affir- 
mative vote of a majority of all the members elected to each 
house, the vote to be by the yeas and nays, and the names of 
the members voting for and against, entered on the journal. 
Every law imposing, continuing or reviving a tax shall 
specifically state such tax and no law shall be construed as so 
stating such tax, which requires a reference to any other law 
or any other tax. The presiding officer of each house shall, in 
the presence of the house over which he presides, sign every 
bill that has been passed by both houses and duly enrolled. 
Immediately before this is done, all other business being sus- 
pended, the title of the bill shall be publicly read. The fact 
of signing shall be entered on the journal. 

Sec. 51. There shall be a joint committee of the General 
Assembly, consisting of seven members appointed by the 
House of Delegates, and five members appointed by the Sen- 
ate, which shall be a standing committee on special, private, 
and local legislation. Before reference to a committee, as 
provided by section Fifty, any special, private, or local bill 
introduced in either house shall be referred to and considered 
by such joint committee and returned to the house in which it 
originated with a statement in writing whether the object of 
the bill can be accomplished under general law or by court 
proceeding; whereupon, the bill, with the accompanying 



I38 APPENDIX 

statement, shall take the course provided by section Fifty. 
The joint committee may be discharged from the considera- 
tion of a bill by the house in which it originated in the man- 
ner provided in section Fifty for the discharge of other com- 
mittees. 

Sec. 52. No law shall embrace more than one object, which 
shall be expressed in its title; nor shall any law be revived or 
amended with reference to its title, but the act revived or the 
section amended shall be re-enacted and published at length. 

Sec. 53. No law, except a general appropriation law, shall 
take effect until at least ninety days after the adjournment of 
the session of the General Assembly at which it is enacted, 
unless in case of an emergency (which emergency shall be ex- 
pressed in the body of the bill), the General Assembly shall 
otherwise direct by a vote of four-fifths of the members vot- 
ing in each house, such vote to be taken by the yeas and nays, 
and the names of the members voting for and against entered 
on the journal. 

Sec. 54. The Governor, Lieutenant-Governor, Attorney- 
General, judges, members of the State Corporation Commis- 
sion, and executive officers at the seat of government, and all 
officers appointed by the Governor or elected by the General 
Assembly, offending against the State by malfeasance in office, 
corruption, neglect of duty, or other high crime or misde- 
meanor, may be impeached by the House of Delegates, and 
prosecuted before the Senate which shall have the sole power 
to try impeachment. When sitting for that purpose, the sena- 
tors shall be on oath or affirmation, and 'no person shall be 
convicted without the concurrence of two-thirds of the sena- 
tors present. Judgment in case of impeachment shall not 
extend further than removal from office and disqualification to 
hold and enjoy any office of honor, trust, or profit under the 
State; but the person convicted shall nevertheless be subject 
to indictment, trial, judgment, and punishment according to 
law. The Senate may sit during the recess of the General 
Assembly for the trial of impeachments. 

Sec. 55. The General Assembly shall by law apportion the 
State into districts, corresponding with the number of repre- 
sentatives to which it may be entitled in the House of Repre- 
sentatives of the Congress of the United States; which districts 



CONSTITUTION OF VIRGINIA 1 39 

shall be composed of contiguous and compact territory con- 
taining, as nearly as practicable, an equal number of inhabit- 
ants. 

Sec. 56. The manner of conducting and making returns of 
elections, of determining contested elections, and of filling 
vacancies in office, in cases not specially provided for by this 
Constitution, shall be prescribed by law, and the General As- 
sembly may declare the cases in which any office shall be 
deemed vacant where no provision is made for that purpose 
in this Constitution. 

Sec. 57. The General Assembly shall have power, by a 
two-thirds vote, to remove disabilities incurred under section 
Twenty-three, of Article Two, of this Constitution, with ref- 
erence to duelling. 

Sec. 58. The privilege of the writ of habeas corpus shall 
not be suspended unless when in cases of invasion or re- 
bellion, the public safety may require. The General Assem- 
bly shall not pass any bill of attainder, or any ex post facto 
law, or any law impairing the obligation of contracts, or any 
law abridging the freedom of speech or of the press. It shall 
not enact any law whereby private property shall be taken 
or damaged for public uses, without just compensation. No 
man shall be compelled to frequent or support any religious 
worship, place, or ministry whatsoever, nor shall be enforced, 
restrained, molested, or burthened in his body or goods, nor 
shall otherwise suffer on account of his religious opinions or 
belief; but all men shall be free to profess, and by argument 
to maintain, their opinions in matters of religion, and the 
same shall in no wise diminish, enlarge, or affect their civil 
capacities. And the General Assembly shall not prescribe any 
religious test whatever, or confer any peculiar privileges or 
advantages on any sect or denomination, or pass any law 
requiring or authorizing any religious society, or the people 
of any district within this State, to levy on themselves or 
others any tax for the erection or repair of any house of pub- 
lic worship, or for the support of any church or ministry; but 
it shall be left free to every person to select his religious in- 
structor, and to make for his support such private contract as 
he shall please. 

Sec. 59. The General x\ssembly shall not grant a charter of 



I4O APPENDIX 

incorporation to any church or religious denomination, but 
may secure the title to church property to an extent to be 
limited by law. 

Sec. 60. No lottery shall hereafter be authorized by law; 
and the buying, selling, or transferring of tickets or chances 
in any lottery shall be prohibited. 

Sec. 6i. No new county shall be formed with an area of 
less than six hundred square miles; nor shall the county or 
counties from which it is formed be reduced below that area; 
nor shall any county be reduced in population below eight 
thousand. But any county, the length of which is three 
times its mean breadth, or which exceeds fifty miles in length, 
may be divided at the discretion of the General Assembly. 

Sec. 62. The General Assembly shall have full power to 
enact local option or dispensary laws, or any other laws con- 
trolling, regulating, or prohibiting the manufacture or sale of 
intoxicating liquors. 

Sec. 63. The General Assembly shall confer on the courts 
power to grant divorces, change the names of persons, and 
direct the sale of estates belonging to infants and other per- 
sons under legal disabilities, and shall not, by special legisla- 
tion, grant relief in these or other cases of which the courts 
or other tribunals may have jurisdiction. The General As- 
sembly may regulate the exercise by courts of the right to 
punish for contempt. The General Assembly shall not enact 
any local, special, or private law in the following cases: 

1. For the punishment of crime. 

2. Providing a change of venue in civil or criminal cases. 

3. Regulating the practice in, or the jurisdiction of, or 
changing the rules of evidence in any judicial proceedings 
or inquiry before, the courts or other tribunals, or providing or 
changing the methods of collecting debts or enforcing judg- 
ments, or prescribing the effect of judicial sales of real estate. 

4. Changing or locating county seats. 

5. For the assessment and collection of taxes, except as to 
animals which the General Assembly may deem dangerous to 
the farming interests. 

6. Extending the time for the assessment or collection of 
taxes. 

7. Exempting property from taxation. 



CONSTITUTION OF VIRGINIA 141 

8. Remitting, releasing, postponing, or diminishing any 
obligation or liability of any person, corporation, or associa- 
tion, to the State or to any political subdivision thereof. 

9. Refunding money lawfully paid into the treasury of 
the State or the treasury of any political subdivision thereof. 

10. Granting from the treasury of the State, or granting or 
authorizing to be granted from the treasury of any political 
subdivision thereof, any extra compensation to any public of- 
ficer, servant, agent, or contractor. 

11. For conducting elections or designating the places of 
voting. 

12. Regulating labor, trade, mining or manufacturing, or 
the rate of interest on money. 

13. Granting any pension or pensions. 

14. Creating, increasing, or decreasing, or authorizing to 
be created, increased, or decreased, the salaries, fees, per- 
centages, or allowances of public officers during the term for 
which they are elected or appointed. 

15. Declaring streams navigable, or authorizing the con- 
struction of booms or dams therein, or the removal of ob- 
structions therefrom. 

16. Affecting or regulating fencing or the boundaries of 
land, or the running at large of stock. 

17. Creating private corporations, or amending, renewing, 
or extending the charters thereof. 

18. Granting to any private corporation, association, or 
individual any special or exclusive right, privilege or im- 
munity. 

19. Naming or changing the name of any private corpora- 
tion or association. 

20. Remitting the forfeiture of the charter of any private 
corporation except upon the condition that such corporation 
shall thereafter hold its charter subject to the provisions of 
this Constitution and the laws passed in pursuance thereof. 

Sec. 64. In all the cases enumerated in the last section, 
and in every other case which, in its judgment, may be pro- 
vided for by general laws, the General Assembly shall enact 
general laws. Any general law shall be subject to amendment 
or repeal, but the amendment or partial repeal thereof shall 
not operate directly or indirectly to enact, and shall not have 
the effect of the enactment of a special, private, or local law. 



142 APPENDIX 

No general or special law shall surrender or suspend the 
right and power of the State, or any political subdivision 
thereof, to tax corporations and corporate property, except 
as authorized by Article Thirteen. No private corporation, 
association, or individual shall be specially exempted from the 
operation of any general law, nor shall its operation be sus- 
pended for the benefit of any private corporation, association, 
or individual. 

Sec. 65. The General Assembly may, by general laws, con- 
fer upon the boards of supervisors of counties, and the coun- 
cils of cities and towns, such powers of local and special 
legislation, as it may from time to time deem expedient, not 
inconsistent with the limitations contained in this Constitu- 
tion. 

Sec. 66. The Clerk of the House of Delegates shall be 
Keeper of the Rolls of the State but shall receive no com- 
pensation from the State for his services as such. 

The General Assembly by general law shall prescribe the 
number of employees of the Senate and House of Delegates, 
including the clerks thereof, and fix their compensation at a 
per diem for the time actually employed in the discharge of 
their duties. 

Sec. 67. The General Assembly shall not make any appro- 
priation of public funds, of personal property, or of any real 
estate, to any church, or sectarian society, association, or in- 
stitution of any kind whatever, which is entirely or partly, di- 
rectly or indirectly, controlled by any church or sectarian 
society; nor shall the General Assembly make any like appro- 
priation to any charitable institution, which is not owned or 
controlled by the State; except that it may, in its discretion, 
make appropriations to non-sectarian institutions for the re- 
form of youthful criminals; but nothing herein contained shall 
prohibit the General Assembly from authorizing counties, 
cities, or towns to make such appropriations to any charitable 
institution or association. 

Sec. 68. The General Assembly shall, at each regular ses- 
sion, appoint a standing committee, consisting of two mem- 
bers of the Senate and three members of the House of Dele- 
gates, which shall be known as the Auditing Committee. 
Such committee shall annually, or oftener in its discretion, 
examine the books and accounts of the First Auditor, the 



CONSTITUTION OF VIRGINIA I43 

State Treasurer, the Secretary of the Commonwealth, and 
other executive officers at the. seat of government whose 
duties pertain to auditing or accounting for the state revenue, 
report the result of its investigations to the Governor, and 
cause the same to be published in two newspapers of general 
circulation in the State. The Governor shall, at the beginning 
of each session, submit said reports to the General Assembly 
for appropriate action. The committee may sit during the 
recess of the General Assembly, receive such compensation 
as may be prescribed by law, and employ one or more ac- 
countants to assist in its investigations. 

ARTICLE V. 

EXECUTIVE DEPARTMENT. 

Sec. 69. The chief executive power of the State shall be 
vested in a Governor. He shall hold office for a term of four 
years, to commence on the first day of February next succeed- 
ing his election, and be ineligible to the same office for the 
term next succeeding that for which he was elected, and to 
any other office during his term of service. 

Sec. 70. The Governor shall be elected by the qualified 
voters of the State at the time and place of choosing members 
of the General Assembly. Returns of the election shall be 
transmitted, under seal, by the proper officers, to the Secre- 
tary of the Commonwealth, who shall deliver them to the 
Speaker of the House of Delegates on the first day of 
the next session of the General Assembly. The Speaker of the 
House of Delegates shall, within one week thereafter, in the 
presence of a majority of the Senate and of the House of 
Delegates, open the returns, and the votes shall then be 
counted. The person having the highest number of votes 
shall be declared elected; but if two or more shall have the 
highest and an equal number of votes, one of them shall be 
chosen Governor by the joint vote of the two houses of the 
General Assembly. Contested elections for Governor shall 
be decided by a like vote, and the mode of proceeding in such 
cases shall be prescribed by law. 

Sec. 71. No person except a citizen of the United States 
shall be eligible to the office of Governor; and if such person 



144 APPENDIX 

be of foreign birth, he must have been a citizen of the United 
States for ten years next preceding his election; nor shall any 
person be eligible to that office unless he shall have attained 
the age of thirty years, and have been a resident of the State 
for five years next preceding his election. 

Sec. 72. The Governor shall reside at the seat of govern- 
ment; shall receive five thousand dollars for each year of his 
service, and while in office shall receive no other emolument 
from this or any other government. 

Sec. 73. The Governor shall take care that the laws be 
faithfully executed; communicate to the General Assembly, at 
every session, the condition of the State; recommend to its 
consideration such measures as he may deem expedient, and 
convene the General Assembly on application of two-thirds of 
the members of both houses thereof, or when, in his opinion, 
the interest of the State may require. He shall be com- 
mander-in-chief of the land and naval forces of the State; 
have power to embody the militia to repel invasion, suppress 
insurrection and enforce the execution of the laws; conduct, 
either in person or in such manner as shall be prescribed by 
law, all intercourse with other and foreign states; and, during 
the recess of the General Assembly, shall have power to sus- 
pend from office for misbehavior, incapacity, neglect of offi- 
cial duty, or acts performed without due authority of law, all 
executive officers at the seat of government except the 
Lieutenant-Governor; but, in any case in which this power 
is so exercised, the Governor shall report to the General As- 
sembly, at the beginning of the next session thereof, the fact 
of such suspension and the cause therefor, whereupon the 
General Assembly shall determine whether such officer shall 
be restored or finally removed; and the Governor shall have 
power, during the recess of the General Assembly, to appoint, 
pro tempore, successors to all officers so suspended, and to fill, 
pro tempore, vacancies in all offices of the State for the filling 
of which the Constitution and laws make no other provision; 
but his appointments to such vacancies shall be by commis- 
sions to expire at the end of thirty days after the commence- 
ment of the next session of the General Assembly. He shall 
have power to remit fines and penalties in such cases, and 
under such rules and regulations, as may be prescribed by 
law, and except when the prosecution has been carried on by 



CONSTITUTION OF VIRGINIA 1 45 

the House of Delegates, to grant reprieves and pardons after 
conviction; to remove political disabilities consequent upon 
conviction for offences committed prior or subsequent to the 
adoption of this Constitution, and to commute capital punish- 
ment; but he shall communicate to the General Assembly, at 
each session, particulars of every case of fine or penalty re- 
mitted, of reprieve or pardon granted, and of punishment 
commuted, with his reasons for remitting, granting, or com- 
muting the same. 

Sec. 74. The Governor may require information in writing, 
under oath, from the officers of the executive department and 
superintendents of state institutions upon any subject relating 
to the duties of their respective offices and institutions; and 
he may inspect at any time their official books, accounts and 
vouchers, and ascertain the condition of the public funds in 
their charge, and in that connection may employ accountants. 
He may require the opinion in writing of the Attorney-Gen- 
eral upon any question of law affecting the official duties of 
the Governor. 

Sec. 75. Commissions and grants shall run in the name of 
the Commonwealth of Virginia, and be attested by the Gover- 
nor, with the seal of the Commonwealth annexed. 

Sec'. 76. Every bill, which shall have passed the Senate 
and House of Delegates, shall, before it becomes a law, be 
presented to the Governor. If he approve, he shall sign it; 
but, if not, he may return it with his objections to the house 
in which it originated, which shall enter the objections at 
large on its journal and proceed to reconsider the same. If, 
after such consideration, two-thirds of the members present, 
which two-thirds shall include a majority of the members 
elected to that house, shall agree to pass the bill it shall be 
sent, together with the objections, to the ether house, 
by which it shall likewise be reconsidered, and if approved by 
two-thirds of all the members present, which two-thirds shall 
include a majority of the members elected to that house, it 
shall become a law, notwithstanding the objections. The 
Governor shall have the power to veto any particular item or 
items of an appropriation bill, but the veto shall not affect the 
item or items to which he does not object. The item or items 
objected to shall not take effect except in the manner hereto- 
fore provided in this section as to bills returned to the Gen- 



I46 \PPENDIX 

eral Assembly without his approval. If he approve the gen- 
eral purpose of any bill, but disapprove any part or parts 
thereof, he may return it, with recommendations for its amend- 
ment, to the house in which it originated, whereupon the same 
proceedings shall be had in both houses upon the bill and his 
recommendations in relation to its amendment, as is above 
provided in relation to a bill which he shall have returned 
without his approval, and with his objections thereto: pro- 
vided, that if after such reconsideration, both houses, by a 
vote of a majority of the members present in each, shall 
agree to amend the bill in accordance with his recommenda- 
tions in relation thereto, or either house by such vote shall 
fail or refuse to so amend it, then, and in either case the bill 
shall be again sent to him, and he may act upon it as if it 
were then before him for the first time. But in all the cases 
above set forth the votes of both houses shall be determined 
by ayes and noes, and the names of the members voting for 
and against the bill, or item or items of an appropriation 
bill, shall be entered on the journal of each house. If any bill 
shall not be returned by the Governor within five days (Sun- 
day excepted) after it shall have been presented to him, the 
same shall be a law in like manner as if he had signed it, 
unless the General Assembly shall, by final adjournment, 
prevent such return; in which case it shall be a law if ap- 
proved by the Governor in the manner and to the extent 
above provided, within ten days after such adjournment, but 
not otherwise. 

Sec. yy. A Lieutenant-Governor shall be elected at the 
same time and for the same term as the Governor, and his 
qualifications and the manner and ascertainment of his elec- 
tion, in all respects, shall be the same. 

Sec. 78. In case of the removal of the Governor from of- 
fice, or of his death, failure to qualify, resignation, removal 
from the State, or inability to discharge the powers and duties 
of the office, the said office, with its compensation, shall de- 
volve upon the Lieutenant-Governor; and the General As- 
sembly shall provide by law for the discharge of the executive 
functions in other necessary cases. 

Sec. 79. The Lieutenant-Governor shall be president of the 
Senate, but shall have no vote except in case of an equal di- 
vision; and while acting as such, shall receive a compensation 



CONSTITUTION OF VIRGINIA 14/ 

equal to that allowed to the Speaker of the House of Dele- 
gates. 

Sec. 80. A Secretary of the Commonwealth shall be elected 
by the qualified voters of the State at the same time and for 
the same term as the Governor; and the fact of his election 
shall be ascertained as in the case of the Governor. He shall 
keep a daily record of the official acts of the Governor, which 
shall be signed by the Governor and attested by the Secretary, 
and, when required, he shall lay the same, and any papers, 
minutes and vouchers pertaining to his office, before either 
house of the General Assembly. He shall discharge such 
other duties as may be prescribed by law. All fees received 
by the Secretary of the Commonwealth shall be paid into the 
treasury monthly. 

Sec. 8i. A State Treasurer shall be elected by the qualified 
voters of the State at the same time and for the same term 
as the Governor; and the fact of his election shall be ascer- 
tained in the same manner. His powers and duties shall be 
prescribed by law. 

Sec. 82. An Auditor of Public Accounts shall be elected by 
the joint vote of the two houses of the General Assembly for 
the term of four years. His powers and duties shall be pre- 
scribed by law. 

Sec. 83. The salary of each officer of the Executive De- 
partment, except in those cases where the salary is deter- 
mined by this Constitution, shall be fixed by law; and the 
salary of no such officer shall be increased or diminished dur- 
ing the term for which he shall have been elected or ap- 
pointed. 

Sec 84. The General Assembly shall provide by law for 
the establishment and maintenance of an efficient system of 
checks and balances between the officers at the seat of govern- 
ment entrusted with the collection, receipt, custody, or dis- 
bursement of the revenues of the State. 

Sec 85. All state officers, and their deputies, assistants or 
employees, charged with the collection, custody, handling or 
disbursement of public funds, shall be required to give bond 
for the faithful performance of such duties; the amount of 
such bond in each case, and the manner in which security 
^hall be furnished, to be specified and regulated by law. 



I48 APPENDIX 

Sec. 86. The General Assembly shall have power to es- 
tablish and maintain a Bureau of Labor and Statistics, under 
such regulations as may be prescribed by law. 

ARTICLE VI. 

JUDICIARY DEPARTMENT. 

Sec. 8y. Trie Judiciary Department shall consist of a Su- 
preme Court of Appeals, circuit courts, city courts, and such 
other courts as are hereinafter authorized. The jurisdiction 
of these tribunals and the judges thereof, except so far as 
conferred by this Constitution, shall be regulated by law. 

Sec. 88. The Supreme Court of Appeals shall consist of 
five judges, any three of whom may hold a court. It shall 
have original jurisdiction in cases of habeas corpus, mandamus, 
and prohibition; but in all other cases, in which it shall have 
jurisdiction, it shall have appellate jurisdiction only. 

Subject to such reasonable rules, as may be prescribed by 
law, as to the course of appeal, the limitation as to time, the 
security required, if any, the grantmg or refusing of appeals, 
and the procedure therein, it shall, by virtue of this Con- 
stitution, have appellate jurisdiction in all cases involving the 
constitutionality of a law as being repugnant to the Constitu- 
tion of this State or of the United States, or involving the life 
or liberty of any person; and it shall also have appellate juris- 
diction in such other cases, within the limits hereinafter de- 
fined, as may be prescribed by law; but no appeal shall be al- 
lowed to the Commonwealth in any case involving the life 
or liberty of a person, except that an appeal by the Com- 
monwealth may be allowed by law in any case involving the 
violation of a law relating to the state revenue. No bond 
shall be required of any accused person as a condition of 
appeal, but a supersedeas bond may be required where the 
only punishment imposed in the court below is a fine. 

The court shall not have jurisdiction in civil cases where 
the matter in controversy, exclusive of costs and of interest 
accrued since the judgment in the court below, is less in 
value or amount than three hundred dollars, except in con- 
troversies concerning the title to, or boundaries of land, the 
condemnation of property, the probate of a will, the appoint- 



CONSTITUTION OF VIRGINIA I49 

merit or qualification of a personal representative, guardian, 
committee, or curator, or concerning a mill, roadway, ferry, or 
landing, or the right of the State, county, or municipal cor- 
poration, to levy tolls or taxes, or involving the construction 
of any statute, ordinance or county proceeding imposing 
taxes; and, except in cases of habeas corpus, mandamus, and 
prohibition, the constitutionality of a law, or some other mat- 
ter not merely pecuniary. After the year nineteen hundred 
and ten the General Assembly may change the jurisdiction of 
the court in matters merely pecuniary. The assent of at least 
three of the judges shall be required for the court to deter- 
mine that any law is, or is not, repugnant to the Constitu- 
tion of this State or of the United States; and if, in a case 
involving the constitutionality of any such law, not more than 
two of the judges sitting agree in opinion on the constitu- 
tional question involved, and the case cannot be determined, 
without passing on such question, no decision shall be ren- 
dered therein, but the case shall be reheard by a full court; 
and in no case where the jurisdiction of the court depends 
solely upon the fact that the constitutionality of a law is in- 
volved, shall the court decide the case upon its merits, unless 
the contention of the appellant upon the constitutional ques- 
tion be sustained. Whenever the requisite majority of the 
judges sitting are unable to agree upon a decision, the case 
shall be reheard by a full bench, and any vacancy caused by 
any one or more of the judges being unable, unwilling, or dis- 
qualified to sit, shall be temporarily filled in a manner to be 
prescribed by law. 

Sec. 89. The General Assembly may, from time to time, 
provide for a Special Court of Appeals to try any cases on 
the docket of the Supreme Court of Appeals in respect to 
which a majority of the judges are so situated as to make it 
improper for them to sit; and also to try any cases on said 
docket which cannot be disposed of with convenient dispatch. 
The said special court shall be composed of not less than 
three nor more than five of the judges of the circuit courts 
and city courts of record in cities of the first class, or of the 
judges of either of said courts, or of any of the judges of 
said courts together with one or more of the judges of the 
Supreme Court of Appeals. 

Sec. 90. When a judgment or decree is reversed or af- 



I50 APPENDIX 

firmed by the Supreme Court of Appeals the reasons therefor 
shall be stated in writing and preserved with the record of 
the case. 

Sec. 91. The judges of the Supreme Court of Appeals shall 
be chosen by the joint vote of the two houses of the Gen- 
eral Assembly. They shall, when chosen, have held a judi- 
cial station in the United States, or shall have practiced law 
in this or some other state for five years. At the first elec- 
tion under this Constitution, the General Assembly shall elect 
the judges for terms of four, six, eight, ten, and twelve years 
respectively; and thereafter they shall be elected for terms 
of twelve years. 

Sec. 92. The officers of the Supreme Court of Appeals 
shall be appointed by the court or by the judges in vacation. 
Their duties, compensation, and tenure of office shall be pre- 
scribed by law. 

Sec. 93. The Supreme Court of Appeals shall hold its ses- 
sions at two or more places in the State, to be fixed by law. 

Sec. 94. The State shall be divided into twenty-four 
judicial circuits, as follows: 

The counties of Norfolk, Princess Anne, and the city of 
Portsmouth, shall constitute the first circuit. 

The counties of Nansemond, Southampton, Isle of Wight, 
and the city of Norfolk, shall constitute the second circuit. 

The counties of Prince George, Surry, Sussex, Greensville, 
and Brunswick, shall constitute the third circuit. 

The counties of Chesterfield, Powhatan, Dinwiddie, Notto- 
way, and Amelia, and the city of Petersburg, shall constitute 
the fourth circuit. 

The counties of Prince Edward, Cumberland, Buckingham, 
Appomattox, and Charlotte, shall constitute the fifth circuit. 

The counties of Lunenburg, Mecklenburg, Halifax, Camp- 
bell, and the city of Lynchburg, shall constitute the sixth 
circuit. 

The counties of Pittsylvania, Franklin, Henry, and Patrick, 
and the city of Dansville, shall constitute the seventh circuit. 

The counties of Amherst, Nelson, Albemarle, Fluvanna, 
and Goochland, shall constitute the eighth circuit. 

The counties of Rappahannock, Culpeper, Madison, Greene, 
Orange, and Louisa, shall constitute the ninth circuit. 



CONSTITUTION OF VIRGINIA I5I 

The county of Henrico and the city of Richmond, shall con- 
stitute the tenth circuit. 

The counties of Accomac, Northampton, Elizabeth City, and 
the city of Newport News, shall constitute the eleventh cir- 
cuit. 

The counties of Richmond, Northumberland, Westmore- 
land, Lancaster, and Essex, shall constitute the twelfth circuit. 

The counties of Gloucester, Mathews, King and Queen, 
King William, and Middlesex, shall constitute the thirteenth 
circuit. 

The counties of New Kent, Charles City, York, Warwick, 
James City, and the city of Williamsburg, shall constitute the 
fourteenth circuit. 

The counties of King George, Stafford, Spotsylvania, Caro- 
line, and Hanover, shall constitute the fifteenth circuit. 

The counties of Fauquier, Loudoun, Prince William, Fair- 
fax, and Alexandria, and the city of Alexandria, shall con- 
stitute the sixteenth circuit. 

The counties of Frederick, Clarke, Warren, Shenandoah, 
and Page, shall constitute the seventeenth circuit. 

The counties of Rockingham, Augusta, and Rockbridge, 
shall constitute the eighteenth circuit. 

The counties of Highland, Bath, Alleghany, Craig, and 
Botetourt, shall constitute the nineteenth circuit. 

The counties of Bedford, Roanoke, Montgomery, and Floyd, 
and the city of Roanoke, shall constitute the twentieth circuit. 

The counties of Pulaski, Carroll, Wythe, and Grayson, shall 
constitute the twenty-first circuit. 

The counties of Bland, Tazewell, Giles, and Buchanan, shall 
constitute the twenty-second circuit. 

The counties of Washington, Russell, and Smyth, shall 
constitute the twenty-third circuit. 

The counties of Scott, Lee, Wise, and Dickenson, shall 
constitute the twenty-fourth circuit. 

Sec. 95. After the first day of January, nineteen hundred 
and six. as the public interest requires, the General Assembly 
may rearrange the said circuits and increase or diminish the 
number thereof. But no new circuit shall be created con- 
taining, by the last United States census or other census 
provided by law, less than forty thousand inhabitants, nor 
when the effect of creating it will be to reduce the number of 



152 APPENDIX 

inhabitants in any existing circuit below forty thousand ac- 
cording to such census. 

Sec. 96. For each circuit a judge shall be chosen by the 
joint vote of the two houses of the General Assembly. He 
shall, when chosen, possess the same qualifications as judges 
of the Supreme Court of Appeals, and during his continuance 
in office shall reside in the circuit of which he is judge. At 
the first election under this Constitution, the General Assem- 
bly shall elect, as nearly as practicable, one-fourth of the en- 
tire number of judges for terms of two years, one-fourth for 
four years, one-fourth for six years, and the remaining 
fourth for eight years, respectively; and thereafter they shall 
be elected for terms of eight years. 

Sec. 97. The number of terms of the circuit courts to be 
held for each county and city, shall be prescribed by law. 
But no separate circuit court shall be held for any city of the 
second class, until the city shall abolish its existing city court. 
The judge of one circuit may be required or authorized to 
hold court in any other circuit or city. 

Sec. 98. For the purposes of a judicial system, the ckies 
of the State shall be divided into two classes. All cities shall 
belong to the first class which contain, as shown by the last 
United States census or other census provided by law, ten 
thousand inhabitants or more, and all cities shall belojig to 
the second class which contain, as thus shown, less than ten 
thousand inhabitants. In each city of the first class, there 
shall be. in addition to the circuit court, a corporation court. 
In any city containing thirty thousand inhabitants or more, 
the General Assembly may provide for such additional courts 
as the public interest may require, and in every such city the 
city courts, as they now exist, shall continue until otherwise 
provided by law. In every city of the second class, the cor- 
poration or hustings court existing, at the time this Con- 
stitution goes into effect, shall continue hereafter under the 
name of the corporation court of such city; but it may be 
abolished by a vote of a majority of the qualified electors of 
such city, at an election held for the purpose, and whenever 
the office of judge of a corporation or hustings court of a 
city of the second class, whose salary is less than eight hun- 
dred dollars, shall become and remain vacant for ninety days 
consecutively, such court shall thereby cease to exist. In 



CONSTITUTION OF VIRGINIA 1 53 

case of the abolition of the corporation or hustings court of 
any city of the second class, such city shall thereupon come in 
every respect within the jurisdiction of the circuit court of 
the county wherein it is situated, until otherwise provided by 
law, and the records of such corporation or hustings court 
shall thereupon become a part of the records of such circuit 
court, and be transferred thereto, and remain therein until 
otherwise provided by law; and during the existence of the 
corporation or hustings court, the circuit court of the county 
in which such city is situated, shall have concurrent jurisdic- 
tion with said corporation or hustings court in all actions at 
law and suits in equity. 

. Sec. 99. For each city court of record a judge shall be 
chosen by the joint vote of the two houses of the General 
Assembly. He shall, when chosen, possess the same qualifica- 
tions as judges of the Supreme Court of Appeals, and during 
his continuance in office shall reside within the jurisdiction 
of the court over which he presides; but the judge of the cor- 
poration court of any corporation having a city charter, and 
less than five thousand inhabitants, may reside outside its 
corporate limits; and the same person may be judge of such 
corporation court and judge of the corporation court of some 
other city having less than ten thousand inhabitants. At the 
first election of said judges under this Constitution, the Gen- 
eral Assembly shall elect, as nearly as practicable, one-fourth 
of the entire number for terms of two years, one-fourth for 
four years, one-fourth for six years, and the remaining fourth 
for eight years; and thereafter they shall be elected for terms 
of eight years. The judges of city courts in cities of the 
first class may be required or authorized to hold the circuit 
courts of any county and the circuit courts of any city. 

Sec. 100. The General Assembly shall have power to es- 
tablish such court or courts of land registration as it may 
deem proper for the administration of any law it may adopt 
for the purpose of the settlement, registration, transfer, or 
assurance of titles to land in the State, or any part thereof. 

Sec. 101. The General Assembly shall have power to con- 
fer upon the clerks of the several circuit courts jurisdiction, 
to be exercised in the manner and under the regulations to 
be prescribed by law, in the matter of the admission of wills 
to probate, and of the appointment and qualification of 



154 CONSTITUTION OF VIRGINIA 

guardians, personal representatives, curators, appraisers, and 
committees of the estates of persons who have been adjudged 
insane or convicted of felony, and in the matter of the sub- 
stitution of trustees. 

Sec. 102. All the judges shall be commissioned by the Gov- 
ernor. They shall receive such salaries and allowances as 
may be determined by law within the limitations fixed by this 
Constitution, the amount of which shall not be increased or 
diminished during their terms of office. Their terms of office 
shall commence on the first day of February next following 
their election, and whenever a vacancy occurs in the office of 
judge, his successor shall be elected for the unexpired term. 

Sec. 103. The salaries of the judges of the Supreme Court 
of Appeals shall be not less than four thousand dollars per 
annum, and shall be paid by the State. 

The salary of the judge of each circuit court shall be not 
less than two thousand dollars per annum, one-half of which 
shall be paid by the State, the other half by the counties and 
cities composing the circuit, according to their respective pop- 
ulation; except that of the salary of the judge of the circuit 
court of the city of Richmond, the State shall pay the pro- 
portion which would otherwise fall to the city of Richmond. 
The salary of a judge of a city court in a city of the first class 
shall be not less than two thousand dollars per annum, one- 
half of which shall be paid by the State, the other half by the 
city. The whole of the aforesaid salaries of said judges shall 
be paid out of the state treasury, the State to be reimbursed 
by the respective counties and cities. Any city may, by an 
ordinance, increase the salaries of its city or circuit judges, 
or any one or more of them as it may deem proper, and the 
increase shall be paid wholly by the city, but shall not be en- 
larged or diminished during the term of office of the judge. 
Each city containing less than ten thousand inhabitants shall 
pay the salary of the judge of its corporation or hustings 
court. 

Sec. 104. Judges may be removed from office for cause, 
by a concurrent vote of both Rouses of the General Assem- 
bly: but a majority of all the members elected to each house 
must concur in such vote, and the cause of removal shall be 
entered on the journal of each house. The judge against 
whom the General Assembly may be about to proceed shall 



CONSTITUTION OF VIRGINIA 1 55 

have notice thereof, accompanied by a copy of the causes al- 
leged for his removal, at least twenty days before the day on 
which either house of the General Assembly shall act there- 
on. 

Sec. 105. No judge of the Supreme Court of Appeals, of 
the circuit court, or of any city court of record shall practice 
law, within or without this State, nor shall he hold any other 
office of public trust during his continuance in office; except 
that the judge of a corporation or hustings court in a city 
of the second class, may hold the office of commissioner in 
chancery of the circuit court for the county in which the city 
is located. 

Sec. 106. Writs shall run in the name of the " Common- 
wealth of Virginia," and be attested by the clerks of the sev- 
eral courts. Indictments shall conclude " against the peace 
and dignity of the Commonwealth." 

Sec. 107. An Attorney-General shall be elected by the 
qualified voters of the State at the same time and for the 
same term as the Governor; and the fact of his election shall 
be ascertained in the same manner. He shall be commis- 
sioned by the Governor, perform such duties and receive such 
compensation as may be prescribed by law, and shall be re- 
movable in the manner prescribed for the removal of judges. 

Sec. 108. The General Assembly shall provide for the ap- 
pointment or election and for the jurisdiction of such justices 
of the peace as the public interest may require. 

Sec. 109. The General Assembly shall provide by whom, 
and in what manner, applications for bail shall be heard and 
determined. 

ARTICLE VII. 

ORGANIZATION AND GOVERNMENT OF COUNTIES. 

Sec. no. There shall be elected by the qualified voters of 
each county, one county treasurer, who shall not be elected 
or serve for more than two consecutive terms, nor act as 
deputy of his immediate successor; one sheriff, one attorney 
for the Commonwealth, and one county clerk, who shall be 
the clerk of the circuit court. There shall be elected or ap- 
pointed, for four years, as the General Assembly may provide, 



156 APPENDIX 

commissioners of the revenue, for each county, the number, 
duties and compensation of whom shall be prescribed by law; 
but should such commissioners of the revenue be chosen by 
election by the people then they shall be ineligible for re- 
election to the office for the next succeeding term. 

There shall be appointed, for each county, in such manner 
as may be provided by law, one superintendent of the poor, 
and one county surveyor. 

Sec. hi. The magisterial districts shall, until changed by 
law, remain as now constituted: provided, that hereafter no 
additional districts shall be made containing less than thirty 
square miles. In each district there shall be elected by the 
qualified voters thereof, one supervisor. The supervisors of 
the districts shall constitute the board of supervisors of the 
county, which shall meet at stated periods and at other times 
as often as may be necessary, lay the county and district 
levies, pass upon all claims against the county, subject to 
such appeal as may be provided by law, and perform such 
duties as may be required by law. 

Sec. 112. All regular elections for county and district of- 
ficers shall be held on Tuesday after the first Monday in No- 
vember, and all of said officers shall enter upon the duties of 
their offices on the first day of January next succeeding. their 
election, and shall hold their respective offices for the term of 
four years, except that the county clerk shall hold office for 
eight years; provided that the term of the clerks first elected 
under this Constitution shall begin on the first of February, 
nineteen hundred and four, and end on the first of January, 
nineteen hundred and twelve. 

Sec. 113. No person shall at the same time hold more than 
one of the offices mentioned in this article. Any officer re- 
quired by law to give bond may be required to give additional 
security thereon, or to execute a new bond, and in default of 
so doing his office shall be declared vacant. 

Sec. 114. Counties shall not be made responsible for the 
acts of the sheriffs. 

Sec. 115. The General Assembly shall provide for the ex- 
amination of the books, accounts and settlements of county 
and city officers who are charged with the collection and dis- 
bursement of public funds. 



CONSTITUTION OF VIRGINIA 1 57 

ARTICLE VIII. 

ORGANIZATION AND GOVERNMENT OF CITIES AND TOWNS. 

Sec. 116. As used In this article the words "incorporated 
communities " shall be construed to relate only to cities and 
towns. All incorporated communities, having within defined 
boundaries a population of five thousand or more, shall be 
known as cities; and all incorporated communities, having 
within defined boundaries a population of less than five thou- 
sand, shall be known as towns. In determining the popula- 
tion of such cities and towns the General Assembly shall be 
governed by the last United States census, or such other 
enumeration as may be made by authority of the General 
Assembly; but nothing in this section shall be construed to 
repeal the charter of any incorporated community of less 
than five thousand inhabitants having a city charter at the 
time of the adoption of this Constitution, or to prevent the 
abolition by such incorporated communities of the corpora- 
tion or hustings court thereof. 

Sec. 117. General laws for the organization and govern- 
ment of cities and towns shall be enacted by the General As- 
sembly, and no special act. shall be passed in relation thereto, 
except in the manner provided in Article Four of this Con- 
stitution, and then only by a recorded vote of two-thirds of 
the members elected to each house. But each of the cities 
and towns of the State having at the time of the adoption of 
this Constitution a municipal charter may retain the same, 
except so far as it shall be repealed or amended by the Gen- 
eral Assembly: provided, that every such charter is hereby 
amended so as to conform to all the provisions, restrictions, 
limitations and powers set forth in this article, or otherwise 
provided in this Constitution. 

Sec 118. In each city which has a court in whose office 
deeds are admitted to record, there shall be elected for a 
term of eight years by the qualified voters of such city a 
clerk of said court, who shall perform such other duties as 
may be required by law. 

There shall be elected in like manner and for a like term 
all such additional clerks of courts for cities as the General 
Assembly may prescribe, or as are now authorized by law, so 



158 APPENDIX 

long as such courts shall continue in existence. But in no city 
of less than thirty thousand inhabitants shall there be more 
than one clerk of the court, who shall be clerk of all the 
courts of record in such city. 

Sec. 119. In every city, so long as it has a corporation 
court, or a separate circuit court, there shall be elected for a 
term of four years by the qualified voters of such city, one at- 
torney for the Commonwealth, who shall also, in those cities 
having a separate circuit court, be the attorney for the Com- 
monwealth, for such circuit court. 

Tn every city there shall be elected, or appointed, for a term 
of four years, in a manner to be provided by law, one com- 
missioner of revenue, whose duties and compensation shall be 
prescribed by law; but should he be elected by the people, he 
shall be ineligible for re-election to the office for the next 
succeeding term. 

Sec. 120. In every city there shall be elected by the 
qualified voters thereof one city treasurer, for a term of four 
years, but he shall not be eligible for more than two con- 
secutive terms, nor act as deputy for his immediate successor; 
one city sergeant, for a term of four years, whose duties shall 
be prescribed by law; and, a mayor, for a term of four years, 
who shall be the chief executive officer of such city. All city 
and town officers, whose election or appointment is not pro- 
vided for by this Constitution, shall be elected by the electors 
of such cities and towns, or of some division thereof, or ap- 
pointed by such authorities thereof as the General Assembly 
shall designate. 

The mayor shall see that the duties of the various city of- 
ficers, members of the police and fire departments, whether 
elected or appointed, in and for such city, are faithfully per- 
formed. He shall have power to investigate their acts, have 
access to all books and documents in their offices, and may 
examine them and their subordinates on oath. The evidence 
given by persons so examined shall not be used against them 
in any criminal proceedings. He shall also have power to 
suspend such officers and the members of the police and fire 
departments, and to remove such oncers, and also such mem- 
bers of said departments when authorized by the General 
Assembly, for misconduct in omce or neglect of duty, to be 
specified in the order of suspension or removal; but no such 



CONSTITUTION OF VIRGINIA 1 59 

removal shall be made without reasonable notice to the officer 
complained of, and an opportunity afforded him to be heard 

in person, or by counsel, and to present testimony in his de- 
fense. From such order of suspension or removal, the city 
officer so suspended or removed shall have an appeal. of right 
to the corporation court, or, if there be no such court, to the 
circuit court of such city, in which court the case shall be 
heard dc novo by the judge thereof, whose decision shall be 
final. He shall have all other powers and duties which may 
be conferred and imposed upon him by general laws. 

Sec. 121. There shall be in every city a council, composed 
of two branches having a different number of members, 
whose powers ana terms of office shall be prescribed by law, 
and whose members shall be elected by the qualified voters 
of such city, in the manner prescribed by law, but so as to 
give as far as practicable, to each ward of such city, equal 
representation in each branch of said council in proportion 
to the population of such ward; but in cities of under ten 
thousand population the General Assembly may permit the 
council to consist of one branch. No member of the council 
shall be eligible during his tenure of office as such member, 
or for one year thereafter, to any office to be filled by the 
council by election or appointment. The council of every city 
may, in a manner prescribed by law, increase or diminish the 
number, and change the boundaries, of the wards thereof, and 
shall, in the year nineteen hundred and three, and in every 
tenth year thereafter, and also whenever the boundaries of 
such wards are changed, re-apportion the representation in 
the council among the wards in a manner prescribed by law; 
and whenever the council of any such city shall fail to per- 
form the duty so prescribed, a mandamus shall lie on behalf 
of any citizen thereof to compel its performance. 

Sec. 122. The mayors and councils of cities shall be elected 
on the second Tuesday in June, and their terms of office shall 
begin on the first day of September succeeding. All other 
elective officers, provided for by this article, or hereafter 
authorized by law, shall be elected on the Tuesday after the 
first Monda}' in November, and their terms of office shall be- 
gin on the first day of January succeeding, except that the 
terms of office of clerks of the city courts shall begin coinci- 
dently with that of the judges of said courts: provided, that 



l6o APPENDIX 

the General Assembly may change the time of election of all 
or any of the said officers, except that the election and the 
beginning of the terms of mayors and councils of cities shall 
not be made by the General Assembly to occur at the same 
time with the election and beginning of the terms of office 
of the other elective officers provided for by this Constitu- 
tion. 

Sec. 123. Every ordinance, or resolution having the effect 
of an ordinance, shall, before it becomes operative, be pre- 
sented to the mayor. If he approve he shall sign it, but if 
not, if the council consist of two branches, he may return it, 
with his objections in writing, to the clerk, or other recording 
officer, of that branch in which it originated; which branch 
shall enter the objections at length on its journal and pro- 
ceed to reconsider it. If after such consideration two-thirds 
of all the members elected thereto shall agree to pass the 
ordinance or resolution it shall be sent, together with the ob- 
jections, to the other branch, by which it shall likewise be 
considered, and if approved by two-thirds of all the members 
elected thereto, it shall become operative notwithstanding the 
objections of the mayor. But in all such cases the votes of 
both branches of the council shall be determined by yeas and 
nays, and the names of the members voting for and against 
the ordinance or resolution shall be entered on the journal 
of each branch. If the council consist of a single branch, 
the mayor's objections in writing to an}' ordinance, or resolu- 
tion having the effect of an ordinance, shall be returned to 
the clerk, or other recording officer of the council, and be 
entered at length on its journal; whereupon the council shall 
proceed to reconsider the same. Upon such consideration the 
vote shall be taken in the same manner as where the council 
consists of two branches, and if the ordinance or resolution 
be approved by two-thirds of all the members elected to the 
council, it shall become operative notwithstanding the ob- 
jections of the mayor. If any ordinance or resolution shall 
not be returned by the mayor within five days (Sunday ex- 
cepted), after it shall have been presented to him, it shall be- 
come operative in like manner as if he had signed it, unless 
his term of office, or that of the council, shall expire within 
said five days. 



CONSTITUTION OF VIRGINIA l6l 

The mayor shall have the power to veto any particular item 

or items of an appropriation ordinance or resolution; but the 
veto shall not affect any item or items to which he does not 
object. The item or items objected to shall not take effect 
except in the manner provided in this section as to ordinances 
or resolutions not approved by the mayor. No ordinance or 
resolution appropriating money exceeding the sum of one 
hundred dollars, imposing taxes, or authorizing the borrowing 
of money, shall be passed, except by a recorded affirmative 
vote of a majority of all the members elected to the council or 
to each branch thereof where there are two; and in case of 
the veto by the mayor of such ordinance or resolution, it shall 
require a recorded affirmative vote of two-thirds of all the 
members elected to the council, or to each branch thereof 
where there are two, to pass the same over such veto in the 
manner provided in this section. Nothing contained in this 
section shall operate to repeal or amend any provision in any 
existing city charter requiring a two-thirds vote for the pas- 
sage of any ordinance as to the appropriation of money, im- 
posing taxes or authorizing the borrowing of money. 

Sec. 124. No street railway, gas, water, steam, or electric 
heating, electric light or power, cold storage, compressed air, 
viaduct, conduit, telephone, or bridge, company, nor any cor- 
poration, association, person or partnership, engaged in these 
or like enterprises, shall be permitted to use the streets, 
alleys, or public grounds of a city or town without the 
previous consent of the corporate authorities of such city or 
town. 

Sec. 125. The rights of no city or town in and to its water 
front, wharf property, public landings, wharves, docks, streets, 
avenues, parks, bridges, and other public places, and its gas, 
water, and electric works shall be sold except by an ordinance 
or resolution passed by a recorded affirmative vote of three- 
fourths of all the members elected to the council, or to each 
branch thereof where there are two, and under such other 
restrictions as may be imposed by law; and in case of the 
veto by the mayor of such an ordinance or resolution, it shall 
require a recorded affirmative vote of three-fourths of all the 
members elected to the council, or to each branch thereof 
where there are two, had in the manner heretofore provided 
for in this article, to pass the same over the veto. No fran- 



1 62 APPENDIX 

chise, lease or right of any kind to use any such public prop- 
erty or any other public property or easement of any descrip- 
tion, in a manner not permitted to the general public, shall be 
granted for a longer period than thirty years. Before grant- 
ing any such franchise or privilege for a term of years, ex- 
cept for a trunk railway, the municipality shall first, after due 
advertisement, receive bids therefor publicly, in such manner 
as may be provided by law, and shall then act as may be re- 
quired by law. Such grant, and any contract in pursuance 
thereof, may provide that upon the termination of the grant 
the plant as well as the property, if any, of the grantee in the 
streets, avenues, and other public places shall thereupon, with- 
out compensation to the grantee, or upon the^ payment of a 
fair valuation therefor, be and become the property of the 
said city or town; but the grantee shall be entitled to no pay- 
ment by reason of the value of the franchise; and any such 
plant or property acquired by a city or town may be sold or 
leased, or, if authorized by law, maintained, controlled and 
operated, by such city or town. Every such grant shall 
specify the mode of determining any valuation therein pro- 
vided for, and shall make adequate provision by way of for- 
feiture of the grant, or otherwise, to secure efficiency of pub- 
lic service at reasonable rates, and the maintenance of the 
property in good order throughout the term of the grant. 
Nothing herein contained shall be construed as preventing the 
General Assembly from prescribing additional restrictions on 
the powers of cities and towns in granting franchises or in 
selling or leasing any of their property, or as repealing any 
additional restriction now required in relation thereto in any 
existing municipal charter. 

Sec. 126. The General Assembly shall provide by general 
laws for the extension and the contraction, from time to time, 
of the corporate limits of cities and towns; and no special act 
for such purpose shall be valid. 

Sec. T27. No city or town shall issue any bonds or other 
interest-bearing obligations for any purpose, or in any man- 
ner, to an amount which, including existing indebtedness, 
shall, at any time, exceed eighteen per centum of the assessed 
valuation of the real estate in the city or town subject to 
taxation, as shown by the last preceding assessment for taxes: 
provided, however, that nothing above contained in this sec- 



CONSTITUTION OF VIRGINIA 1 63 

tion shall apply to those cities and towns whose charters 
existing at the adoption of this Constitution authorize a larger 
percentage of indebtedness than is authorized by this sec- 
tion: and provided further, that in determining the limita- 
tion of the power of a city or town to incur indebtedness 
there shall not be included the following classes of indebted- 
ness: 

(a) Certificates of indebtedness, revenue bonds or other 
obligations issued in anticipation of the collection of the rev- 
enue of such city or town for the then current year; provided 
that such certificates, bonds or other obligations mature with- 
in one year from the date of their issue, and be not past due, 
and do not exceed the revenue for such year; 

(b). Bonds authorized by an ordinance enacted in accord- 
ance with section One Hundred and Twenty-three, and ap- 
proved by the affirmative vote of the majority of the qualified 
voters of the city or town voting upon the question of their 
issuance, at the general election next succeeding" the enact- 
ment of the ordinance, or at a special election held for that 
purpose, for a supply of water or other specific undertaking 
from which the city or town may derive a revenue; but from 
and after a period to be determined by the council, not ex- 
ceeding five years from the date of such election, whenever 
and for so long as such undertaking fails to produce suffi- 
cient revenue to pay for cost of operation and administration 
(including interest on bonds issued therefor, and the cost of 
insurance against loss by injury to persons or property), and 
an annual amount to be covered into a sinking fund sufficient 
to pay, at or before maturity, all bonds issued on account of 
said undertaking, all such bonds outstanding shall be included 
in determining the limitation of the power to incur indebted- 
ness, unless the principal and interest thereof be made pay- 
able exclusively from the receipts of the undertaking. 

Sec. 128. In cities and towns the assessment of real estate 
and personal property for the purpose of municipal taxation, 
shall be the same as the assessment thereof for the purpose of 
state taxation, whenever there shall be a state assessment of 
such property. 



164 APPENDIX 

ARTICLE IX. 

EDUCATION AND PUBLIC INSTRUCTION. 

Sec. 129. The General Assembly shall establish and main- 
tain an efficient system of public free schools throughout the 
State. 

Sec. 130. The general supervision of the school system 
shall be vested in a State Board of Education, composed of 
the Governor, Attorney-General, Superintendent of Public 
Instruction, and three experienced educators to be elected 
quadrennially by the Senate, from a list of eligibles, consist- 
ing of one from each of the faculties, and nominated by the 
respective boards of visitors or trustees, of the University of 
Virginia, the Virginia Military Institute, the Virginia Poly- 
technic Institute, the State Female Normal School at Farm- 
ville, the School for the Deaf and Blind, and also of the Col- 
lege of William and Mary, so long as the State continue its 
annual appropriation to the last named institution. 

The board thus constituted shall select and associate with 
itself two division superintendents of schools, one from 
a county and the other from a city, who shall hold office for 
two years, and whose powers and duties shall be identical with 
those of other members, except that they shall not participate 
in the appointment of any public school official. 

Any vacancy occurring during the term of any member of 
the board shall be filled for the unexpired term by said board. 

Sec. 131. The Superintendent of Public Instruction, who 
shall be an experienced educator, shall be elected by the quali- 
fied voters of the State at the same time and for the same term 
as the Governor. Any vacancy in said omce shall be filled for 
the unexpired term by the said board. 

His duties shall be prescribed by the State Board of Edu- 
cation, of which he shall be ex-oMcio president; and his com- 
pensation shall be fixed by law. 

Sec. 132. • The duties and powers of the State Board of 
Education shall be as follows: 

First. It may, in its discretion, divide the State into ap- 
propriate school divisions, comprising not less than one coun- 
ty or city each, but no county or city shall be divided in the 
formation of such divisions. It shall, subject to the confirma- 



CONSTITUTION OF VIRGINIA 1 65 

tion of the Senate, appoint, for each of such divisions, one su- 
perintendent of schools, who shall hold office for four years, 
and shall prescribe his duties, and may remove him for cause 
and upon notice. 

Second. It shall have, regulated by law, the management 
and investment of the school fund. 

Third. It shall have authority to make all needful rules 
and regulations for the management and conduct of the 
schools, which, when published and distributed, shall have the 
force and effect of law, subject to the authority of the Gen- 
eral Assembly to revise, amend, or repeal the same. 

Fourth. It shall select text books and educational appli- 
ances for use in the schools of the State, exercising such dis- 
cretion, as it may see fit in the selection of books suitable for 
the schools in the cities and counties respectively. 

Fifth. It shall appoint a board of directors, consisting of 
five members, to serve without compensation, which shall 
have the management of the State Library, and the appoint- 
ment of a librarian and other employees thereof, subject to 
such rules and regulations as the General Assembly shall pre- 
scribe; but the Supreme Court of Appeals shall have the man- 
agement of the law library and the appointment of the li- 
brarian and other employees thereof. 

Sec. 133. Each magisterial district shall constitute a sepa- 
rate school district, unless otherwise provided by law. In 
each school district there shall be three trustees selected, in 
the manner and for the term of office prescribed by law. 

Sec. 134. The General Assembly shall set apart as a per- 
manent and perpetual literary fund, the present literary fund 
of the State; the proceeds of all public lands donated by Con- 
gress for public free school purposes; of all escheated prop- 
erty; of all waste and unappropriated lands; of all property 
accruing to the State by forfeiture, and all fines collected for 
offences committed against the State, and such other sums as 
the General Assembly may appropriate. 

Sec. 135. The General Assembly shall apply the annual in- 
terest 011 the literary fund; that portion of the capitation tax 
provided for in the Constitution to be paid into the state treas- 
ury, and not returnable to the counties and cities; and an 
annual tax on property of not less than one nor more than 
five mills on the dollar to the schools of the primary and 



1 66 APPENDIX 

grammar grades, for the equal benefit of all of the people of 
the State, to be apportioned on a basis of school population; 
the number of children between the ages of seven and twenty 
years in each school district to be the basis of such appor- 
tionment: but if at any time the several kinds or classes of 
property shall be segregated for the purposes of taxation, so 
as to specify and determine upon what subjects state taxes 
and upon what subjects local taxes may be levied, then the 
General Assembly may otherwise provide for a fixed appro- 
priation of state revenue to the support of the schools not less 
than that provided in this section. 

Sec. 136. Each county, city, town if the same be a separate 
school district, and school district is authorized to raise addi- 
tional sums by a tax on property, not to exceed in the aggre- 
gate five mills on the dollar in any one year, to be appor- 
tioned and expended by the local school authorities of said 
counties, cities, towns and districts in establishing and main- 
taining such schools as in their judgment the public welfare 
may require: provided, that such primary schools as may be 
established in any school year, shall be maintained at least 
four months of that school year, before any part of the fund 
assessed and collected may be devoted to the establishment 
of schools of higher grade. The boards of supervisors of the 
several counties, and the councils of the several cities, and 
towns if the same be separate school districts, shall provide 
for the levy and collection of such local school taxes. 

Sec. 137. The General Assembly may establish agricul- 
tural, normal, manual training and technical schools, and 
such grades of schools as- shall be for the public good. 

Sec. 138. The General Assembly may, in its discretion, 
provide for the compulsory education of children between the 
ages of eight and twelve years, except such as are weak in 
body or mind, or can read and write, or are attending private 
schools, or are excused for cause by the district school trus- 
tees. 

Sec. 139. Provision shall be made to supply children at- 
tending the public schools with necessary text-books in cases 
where the parent or guardian is unable, by reason of poverty, 
to furnish them. 

Sec. 140. White and colored children shall not be taught in 
the same school. 



CONSTITUTION OF VIRGINIA 1 67 

Sec. 141. No appropriation of public funds shall be made 
to any school or institution of learning not owned or ex- 
clusively controlled by the State or some political subdivision 
thereof: provided, first, that the General Assembly may, in 
its discretion, continue the appropriations to the College of 
William and Mary; second, that this section shall not be con- 
strued as requiring or prohibiting the continuance or discon- 
tinuance by the General Assembly of the payment of interest 
on certain bonds held by certain schools and colleges as pro- 
vided by an act of the General Assembly, approved February 
twenty-third, eighteen hundred and ninety-two, relating to 
bonds held by schools and colleges; third, that counties, cities, 
towns, and districts may make appropriations to non-sectarian 
schools of manual, industrial, or technical training, and also 
to any school or institution of learning owned or exclusively 
controlled by such county, city, town, or school district. 

Sec. 142. Members of the boards of visitors or trustees of 
educational institutions shall be appointed as may be pro- 
vided by law, and shall hold for the term of four years: pro- 
vided at the first appointment, if the board be of an even 
mm-ber, one-half of them, or, if of an odd number, the least 
majority of them, shall be appointed for two years. 

ARTICLE X. 

AGRICULTURE AND IMMIGRATION 

Sec. 143. There shall be a Department of Agriculture and 
Immigration, which shall be permanently maintained at the 
capital of the State, and which shall be under the management 
and control of a Bonrd of Agriculture and Immigration, com- 
posed of one member from each congressional district, who 
shall be a practical farmer, appointed by the Governor for a 
term of four years, subject to confirmation by the Senate, and 
the president of the Virginia Polytechnic Institute, who shall 
be cx-ofhcio a member of the board: provided, that members 
of the board first appointed under this Constitution from the 
congressional districts bearing odd numbers shall hold office 
for two years. 

Sec. 14.4. The powers and duties of the board shall be pre- 
scribed by law: provided, that it shall have power to elect and 



168 APPENDIX 

remove its officers, and establish elsewhere in the State subor- 
dinate branches of said department. 

Sec. 145. There shall be a Commissioner of Agriculture 
and Immigration, whose term of office shall be four years, and 
who shall be elected by the qualified voters of the State, and 
whose powers and duties shall be prescribed by the Board 
of Agriculture and Immigration until otherwise provided by 
law. 

Sec. 146. The president of the Board of Agriculture and 
Immigration shall be ex-officio a member of the Board of Vis- 
itors of the Virginia Polytechnic Institute. 

ARTICLE XI. 

PUBLIC INSTITUTIONS AND PRISONS. 

Sec. 147. There shall be a state penitentiary, with such 
branch prisons and prison farms as may be provided by law. 

Sec. 148. There shall be appointed by the Governor, sub- 
ject to confirmation by the Senate, a board of five directors 
which, subject to such regulations and requirements as may 
be prescribed by law, shall have the government and control 
of the penitentiary, branch prisons, and prison- farms, and 
shall appoint the superintendents and surgeons thereof. The 
respective superintendents shall appoint, and may remove, all 
other officers and employees of the penitentiary, branch 
prisons, and prison farms, subject to the approval of the board 
of directors. The superintendents -and surgeons shall be ap- 
pointed for a term of four years, and be removable by the 
board of directors for misbehavior, incapacity, neglect of of- 
ficial duty, or acts performed without authority of law. The 
terms of the directors first appointed shall be one, two, three, 
four, and five years, respectively; and thereafter, upon the ex- 
piration of the term of a director, his successor shall be ap- 
pointed for a term of five years. 

Sec. 149. For each state hospital for the insane now exist- 
ing, or hereafter established, there shall be a special board of 
directors, consisting of three members, who shall be appointed 
by the Governor, subject to confirmation by the Senate; such 
board shall have the management of the hospital for which it 
is appointed, under the supervision and control of the general 



CONSTITUTION OF VIRGINIA 1 69 

board of directors hereinafter constituted. The terms of the 
directors first appointed shall be two, four, and six years, re- 
spectively, and thereafter, upon the expiration of the term 
of a member, his successor shall be appointed for a term of 
six years. 

Sec. 150. There shall be a general board of directors for 
the control and management of all the state hospitals for the 
insane now existing or hereafter established, which shall con- 
sist of all the directors appointed members of the several spe- 
cial boards. The general board of directors shall be subject 
to such regulations and requirements as the General Assem- 
bly may from time to time prescribe, and shall have full power 
and control over the special boards of directors and all of 
the officers and employees of the said hospitals. 

Sec. 151. The general board of directors shall appoint for 
a term of four years a superintendent for each hospital, who 
shall be removable by said board for misbehavior, incapacity, 
neglect of official duty, or acts performed without authority of 
law. The special board of-each hospital, shall, subject to the 
approval of the general board, appoint for a term of four 
years all other resident officers. The superintendent of each 
hospital shall appoint, and may remove, with the approval of 
the especial board, all other employees of such hospital. 

Sec. 152. There shall be a Commissioner of State Hospi- 
tals for the Insane, who shall be appointed by the Governor, 
subject to confirmation by the Senate, for a term of four 
years. He shall be ex-ofhcio chairman of the general and of 
each of the special boards of directors, and shall be respon- 
sible for the proper disbursement of all moneys appropriated 
or received from any source for the maintenance of such 
hospitals; he shall cause to be established and maintained at 
all of the hospitals a uniform system of keeping the records 
and the accounts of money received and disbursed and 6i 
making the reports thereof. He shall perform such other 
duties and shall execute such bond and receive such salary 
as may be prescribed by law. 



I/O APPENDIX 

ARTICLE XII. 

CORPORATIONS. 

Sec. 153. As used in this article: the term " corporation " 
or " company " shall include all trusts, associations and joint 
stock companies having any powers or privileges not possess- 
ed by individuals or unlimited partnerships, and exclude all 
municipal corporations and public institutions owned or con- 
trolled by the State; the term "charter" shall be construed 
to mean the charter of incorporation by, or under, which any 
such corporation is formed; the term "transportation com- 
pany " shall include any company, trustee, or other person 
owning, leasing or operating for hire a railroad, street railway, 
canal, steamboat or steamship line, and also any freight car 
company, car association, or car trust, express company, or 
company, trustee or person in any way engaged in business 
as a common carrier over a route acquired in whole or in 
part under the right of eminent domain; the term " rate " shall 
be construed to mean " rate of charge for any service rendered 
or to be rendered"; the terms "rate," "charge" and "regu- 
lation," shall include joint rates, joint charges, and joint regu- 
lations, respectively; the term "transmission company" shall 
include any company owning, leasing, or operating for hire, 
any telegraph or telephone line; the term "freight" shall be 
construed to mean any property transported, or received for 
transportation, by any transportation company; the term 
" public service corporation " shall include all transportation 
and transmission companies, all gas, electric light, heat and 
power companies, and all persons authorized to exercise the 
right of eminent domain, or to use or occupy any street, alley 
or public highway, whether along, over, or under the same, in 
a manner not permitted to the general public; the term "per- 
son," as used in this article, shall include individuals, partner- 
ships and corporations, in the singular as well as plural num- 
ber; the term "bond" shall mean all certificates, or written 
evidences, of indebtedness issued by any corporation and 
secured by mortgage or trust deed; the term "frank" shall 
be construed to mean any writing or token, issued by, or 
under authority of, a transmission company, entitling the 
holder to any service from such company free of charge. 



CONSTITUTION OF VIRGINIA I7I 

The provisions of this article shall always be so restricted in 
their application as not to conflict with any of the provisions 
of the Constitution of the United States, and as if the neces- 
sary limitations upon their interpretation had been herein ex- 
pressed in each case. 

Sec. 154. The creation of corporations, and the extension 
and amendment of charters (whether heretofore or hereafter 
granted) shall be provided for by general laws, and no charter 
shall be granted, amended or extended by special act, nor 
shall authority in such matters be conferred upon any tribunal 
or officer, except to ascertain whether the applicants have, by 
complying with the requirements of the law, entitled them- 
selves to the charter, amendment or extension applied for, and 
to issue, or refuse, the same accordingly. Such general laws 
may be amended or repealed by the General Assembly; and 
all charters and amendments of charters, now existing and 
revocable, or hereafter granted or extended, may be repealed 
at any time by special act. Provision shall be made, by gen- 
eral laws, for the voluntary surrender of its charter by any 
corporation, and for the forfeiture thereof for non-user or 
mis-user. The General Assembly shall not, by special act, 
regulate the affairs of any corporation, nor, by such act, give 
it any rights, powers or privileges. 

Sec. 155. A permanent commission, to consist of three 
members, is hereby created, which shall be known as the 
State Corporation Commission. The commissioners shall be 
appointed by the Governor, subject to confirmation by the 
General Assembly in joint session, and their regular terms of 
office shall be six years, respectively, except those first ap- 
pointed under this Constitution, of whom, one shall be ap- 
pointed to hold office until the first day of February, nineteen 
hundred and four, one, until the first day of February, nine- 
teen hundred and six, and one, until the first day of Febru- 
ary, nineteen hundred and eight. Whenever a vacancy in the 
commission shall occur, the Governor shall forthwith ap- 
point a qualified person to fill the same for the unexpired 
term, subject to confirmation by the General Assembly as 
aforesaid. Commissioners appointed for regular terms shall, 
at the beginning of the terms for which appointed, and those 
appointed to fill vacancies shall, immediately upon their 
appointments, enter upon the duties of their office; but no per- 



172 APPENDIX 

son so appointed, either for a regular term, or to fill a va- 
cancy, shall enter upon, or continue in, office after the Gen- 
eral Assembly shall have refused to confirm his appointment, 
or adjourn sine die without confirming the same, nor shall 
he be eligible for re-appointment to fill the vacancy caused 
by such refusal or failure to confirm. No person while em- 
ployed by, or holding any office in relation to, any trans- 
portation or transmission company, or while in any wise finan- 
cially interested therein, or while engaged in practicing law, 
shall hold office as a member of said commission, or perform 
any of the duties thereof. At least one of the commissioners 
shall have the qualifications prescribed for judges of the Su- 
preme Court of Appeals; and any commissioner may be im- 
peached or removed in the manner provided for the impeach- 
ment or removal of a judge of said court. The commission 
shall annually elect one of their members chairman of the 
saune, and shall have one clerk, one bailiff and such other 
clerks, officers, assistants and subordinates as may be pro- 
vided by law, all of whom shall be appointed, and subject to 
removal, by the commission. It shall prescribe its own rules 
of order and procedure, except so far as the same are specified 
in this Constitution or any amendment thereof. The General 
Assembly may establish within the department, and subject 
to the supervision and control, of the commission, subor- 
dinate divisions, or bureaus, of insurance, banking or other 
special branches of the business of that department. All ses- 
sions of the commission shall be public, and a permanent 
record shall be kept of all its judgments, rules, orders, find- 
ings and decisions, and of all reports made to, or by, it. Two 
of the commissioners shall constitute a quorum for the trans- 
action of business, whether there be a vacancy in the com- 
mission or not. The commission shall keep its office open for 
business on every day except Sundays and legal holidays. 
Transportation companies shall at all times transport, free 
of charge, within this State, the members of said commis- 
sion and its officers, or any of them, when engaged on their 
official duties. The General Assembly shall provide suitable 
quarters for the commission and funds for its lawful expenses, 
including pay for witnesses summoned, and costs of executing 
processes issued, by the commission of its own motion; and 
shall fix the salaries of the members, clerks, assistants and 



CONSTITUTION OF VIRGINIA 1 73 

subordinates of the commission and provide for the payment 
thereof; but the salary of each commissioner shall not be less 
than four thousand dollars per annum. After the first day of 
January, nineteen hundred and eight, the General Assembly 
may provide for the election of the members of the com- 
mission by the qualified voters of the State; in which event, 
vacancies thereafter occurring shall be filled as hereinbefore 
provided, until the expiration of twenty days after the next 
general election, held not less than sixty days after the va- 
cancy occurs, at which election the vacancy shall be filled for 
the residue of the unexpired term. 

Sec. 156. (a) Subject to the provisions of this Constitu- 
tion and- to such requirements, rules and regulations as may 
be prescribed by law, the State Corporation Commission shall 
be the department of government through which shall be is- 
sued all charters and amendments or extensions thereof, for 
domestic corporations, and all licenses to do business in this 
State to foreign corporations; and through which shall be 
carried out all the provisions of this Constitution, and of the 
laws made in pursuance thereof, for the creation, visitation, 
supervision, regulation and control of corporations chartered 
by, or doing business in. this State. The commission shall 
prescribe the forms of all reports which may be required of 
such corporations by this Constitution or by law; it shall 
collect, receive, and-preserve such reports, and annually tab- 
ulate and publish them in statistical form; it shall have all the 
rights and powers of, and perform all the duties devolving 
upon, the Railroad Commissioner and the Board of Public 
Works, at the time this Constitution goes into effect, except 
so far as they are inconsistent with this Constitution, or may 
be hereafter abolished or changed by law. 

(b) The commission shall have the power, and be charged 
with the duty, of supervising, regulating and controlling all 
transportation and transmission companies doing business in 
this State, in all matters relating to the performance of their 
public duties and their charges therefor, and of correcting 
abuses therein by such companies; and to that end the com- 
mission shall, from time to time, prescribe, and enforce 
against such companies, in the manner hereinafter authorized, 
such rates, charges, classifications of traffic, and rules and 
regulations, and shall require them to establish and maintain 



174 APPENDIX 

all such public service, facilities and conveniences, as may be 
reasonable and just, which said rates, charges, classifications, 
rules, regulations and requirements the commission may, from 
time to time, alter or amend. All rates, charges, classifica- 
tions, rules and regulations adopted, or acted upon, by any 
such company, inconsistent with those prescribed by the com- 
mission, within the scope of its authority, shall be unlawful 
and void. The commission shall also have the right at all 
times to inspect the books and papers of all transportation 
and transmission companies doing business in this State, and 
to require from such companies, from time to time, special 
reports and statements under oath, concerning their business; 
it shall keep itself fully informed of the physical condition 
of all the railroads of the State, as to the manner in which 
they are operated, with reference to the security and accom- 
modation of the public, and shall, from time to time, make and 
enforce such requirements, rules and regulations as may be 
necessary to prevent unjust or unreasonable discriminations 
by any transportation or transmission company in favor of, 
or against, any person, locality, community, connecting line, 
or kind of traffic, in the matter of car service, train or boat, 
schedule, efficiency of transportation or otherwise, in connec- 
tion with the public duties of such company. Before the 
commission shall prescribe or fix any rate, charge, or classi- 
fication of traffic, and before it shall make any order, rule, 
regulation or requirement directed against any one or more 
companies by name, the company or companies to be affected 
by such rate, charge, classification, order, rule, regulation or 
requirement, shall first be given by the commission, at least 
ten days' notice of the time and place, when and where the 
contemplated action in the premises will be considered and 
disposed of, and shall be afforded a reasonable opportunity to 
introduce evidence and to be heard thereon, to the end that 
justice may be done, and shall have process to enforce the 
attendance of witnesses; and before the commission shall 
make or prescribe any general order, rule, regulation or re- 
quirement, not directed against any specific company or com- 
panies by name, the contemplated general order, rule, regu- 
lation or requirement shall first be published in substance, not 
less than once a week for four consecutive weeks in one or 
more of the newspapers of general circulation published in the 



CONSTITUTION OF VIRGINIA 

city of Richmond, Virginia, together with notice of the time 
-and place, when and where the commission will hear any 
objections which may be urged by any person interested, 
against the proposed order, rule, regulation or requirement; 
and every such general order, rule, regulation or requirement, 
made by the commission shall be published at length, for the 
time and in the manner above specified, before it shall go 
into effect, and shall also, as long as it remains in force, be 
published in each subsequent annual report of the commis- 
sion. The authority of the commission (subject to review on 
appeal as hereinafter provided) to prescribe rates, charges and 
classifications of traffic, for transportation and transmission 
companies, shall be paramount; but its authority to prescribe 
any other rules, regulations or requirements for corporations 
or other persons shall be subject to the superior authority of 
the General Assembly to legislate thereon by general laws: 
provided, however, that nothing in this section shall impair 
the right which has heretofore been, or may hereafter be, 
conferred by law upon the authorities of any city, town or 
county to prescribe rules, regulations or rates of charge to be 
observed by any public service corporation in connection with 
any services performed by it under a municipal or county 
franchise granted by such city, town or county, so far as such 
services may be wholly within the limits of the city, town or 
county granting the franchise. Upon the request of the 
parties interested, it shall he the duty of the commission, as 
far as possible, to effect, by mediation, the adjustment of 
claims, and the settlement of controversies, between trans- 
portation or transmission companies and their patrons. 

(c) In all matters pertaining to the public visitation, regu- 
lation or control of corporations, and within the jurisdiction 
of the commission, it shall have the powers and authority of 
a court of record, to administer oaths, to compel the attend- 
ance of witnesses and the production of papers, to punish for 
contempt any person guilty of disrespectful or disorderly 
conduct in the presence of the commission while in session, 
and to enforce compliance with any of its lawful orders or 
requirements by adjudging, and enforcing by its own appro- 
priate process, against the delinquent or offending company 
(after it shall have been first duly cited, proceeded against by 
due process of law before the commission sitting as a court, 



176 APPENDIX 

and afforded opportunity to introduce evidence and to be 
heard, as well against the validity, justness or reasonableness 
of the order or requirement alleged to have been violated, as 
against the liability of the company for the alleged violation), 
such fines or other penalties as may be prescribed or au- 
thorized by this Constitution or by law. The commission 
may be vested with such additional powers, and charged with 
such other duties (not inconsistent with this Constitution) as 
may be prescribed by law, in connection with the visitation, 
regulation or control of corporations, or with the prescribing 
and enforcing of rates and charges to be observed in the con- 
duct of any business where the State has the right to prescribe 
the rates and charges in connection therewith, or with the 
assessment of the property of corporations, or the appraise- 
ment of their franchises, for taxation, or with the investigation 
of the subject of taxation generally. Any corporation failing 
or refusing to obey any valid order or requirement of the 
commission, within such reasonable time, not less than ten 
days, as shall be fixed in the order, may be fined by the com- 
mission (proceeding by due process of law as aforesaid) such 
sum, not exceeding five hundred dollars, as the commission 
may deem proper, or such sum, in excess of five hundred dol- 
lars, as ma}- be prescribed, or authorized, by law; and each 
day's continuance of such failure or refusal, after due service 
upon such corporation of the order or requirement of the 
commission, shall be a separate offence: provided, that should 
the operation of such order or requirement be suspended 
pending an appeal therefrom, the period of such suspension 
shall not be computed against the company in the matter of 
its liability to fines or penalties. 

(d) From any action of the commission prescribing rates, 
charges or classifications of traffic, or affecting the train 
schedule of any transportation company, or requiring addi- 
tional facilities, conveniences or public service of any trans- 
portation or transmission company, or refusing to approve a 
suspending bond, or requiring additional security thereon or 
an increase thereof, as provided for in sub-section e of this 
section, an appeal (subject to such reasonable limitations as 
to time, regulations as to procedure and provisions as to 
costs, as may be prescribed by law) may be taken by the 
corporation whose rates, charges or classifications of traffic, 



CONSTITUTION OF VIRGINIA 1 77 

schedule, facilities, conveniences or service, are affected, or 
by any person deeming himself aggrieved by such action, or 
(if allowed by law) by the Commonwealth. Until otherwise 
provided by law, such appeal shall be taken in the manner in 
which appeals may be taken to the Supreme Court of Ap- 
peals from the inferior courts, except that such an appeal 
shall be of right, and the Supreme Court of Appeals may 
provide by rule for proceedings in the matter of appeals in any 
particular in which the existing rules of law are inapplicable. 
If such appeal be taken by the corporation whose rates, 
charges or classifications of traffic, schedules, facilities, con- 
veniences or service are affected, the Commonwealth shall be 
made the appellee; but, in the other cases mentioned, the cor- 
poration so affected shall be made the appellee. The Gen- 
eral Assembly may also, by general laws, provide for appeals 
from any other action of the commission, by the. Common- 
wealth or by any person interested, irrespective of the amount 
involved. All appeals from the commission shall be to the 
Supreme Court of Appeals only; and in all appeals to which 
the Commonwealth is a party, it shall be represented by the 
Attorney-General or his legally appointed representative. No 
court of this Commonwealth (except the Supreme Court of 
Appeals, by way of appeals as herein authorized), shall have 
jurisdiction to review, reverse, correct or annul any action of 
the commission, within the scope of its authority, or to sus- 
pend or delay the execution or operation thereof, or to enjoin, 
restrain or interfere with the commission in the performance 
of its official duties: provided, however, that the writs of 
mandamus and prohibition shall lie from the Supreme Court 
of Appeals to the commission in all cases where such writs, 
respectively, would lie to any inferior tribunal or officer. 

(e) Upon the granting of an appeal, a writ of supersedeas 
may be aw;arded by the appellate court, suspending the opera- 
tion of the action appealed from until the final disposition of 
the appeal; but, prior to the final reversal thereof by the ap- 
pellate court, no action of the commission prescribing or 
affecting the rates, charges or classifications of traffic of any 
transportation or transmission company shall be delayed, or 
suspended, in its operation, by reason of any appeal by such 
corporation, or by reason of any proceedings resulting from 
such appeal, until a suspending bond shall first have been ex- 



I78 APPENDIX 

ecnted and filed with, and approved by, the commission (or 
approved on review by the Supreme Court of Appeals), pay- 
able to the Commonwealth, and sufficient in amount and se- 
curity to insure the prompt refunding, by the appealing cor- 
poration to the parties entitled thereto, of all charges which 
such company may collect or receive, pending the appeal, in 
excess of those fixed, or authorized, by the final decision of 
the court on appeal. The commission, upon the execution 
of such bond, shall forthwith require the appealing company, 
under penalty of the immediate enforcement (pending the ap- 
peal and notwithstanding any supersedeas), of the order or 
requirement appealed from, to keep such accounts, and to 
make to the commission, from time to time, such reports, 
verified by oath, as may, in the judgment of the commission, 
suffice to show the amounts being charged or received by the 
company, pending the appeal, in excess of the charge allowed 
by the action of the commission appealed from, together with 
the names and addresses of the persons to whom such over- 
charges will be refundable in case the charges made by the 
company pending the appeal, be not sustained on such appeal; 
and the commission shall also, from time to time, require such 
company, under like penalty, to give additional security on, 
or to increase, the said suspending bond, whenever, in the 
opinion of the commission, the same may be necessary to in- 
sure the prompt refunding of the overcharges aforesaid. 
Upon the final decision of such appeal, all amounts which the 
appealing company may have collected, pending the appeal, in 
excess of that authorized by such final decision, shall be 
promptly refunded by the company to the parties entitled 
thereto, in such manner, and through such methods of dis- 
tribution, as may be prescribed by the commission, or by law. 
All such appeals affecting rates, charges or classifications of 
traffic, shall have precedence upon the docket of the appellate 
court, and shall be heard and disposed of promptly by the 
court, irrespective of its place of session, next after the 
habeas corpus, and Commonwealth's cases already on the 
docket of the court. 

(/') In no case of appeal from the commission shall any 
new or additional evidence be introduced in the appellate 
court; but the chairman of the commission, under the seal of 
the commission, shall certify to the appellate court all the 



CONSTITUTION OF VIRGINIA 179 

facts upon which the action appealed from was based and 
which may be essential for the proper decision of the appeal, 
together with such of the evidence introduced before, or con- 
sidered by, the commission as may be selected, specified and 
required to be certified, by any party in interest, as well as 
such other evidence, so introduced or considered, as the com- 
mission may deem proper to certify. The commission shall, 
whenever an appeal is taken therefrom, file with the record 
of the case, and as a part thereof, a written statement of the 
reasons upon which the action appealed from was based, and 
such statement shall be read and considered by the appellate 
court, upon disposing of the appeal. The appellate court shall 
have jurisdiction, on such appeal, to consider and determine 
the reasonableness and justness of the action of the commis- 
sion appealed from, as well as any other matter arising under 
such appeal: provided, however, that the action of the com- 
mission appealed from shall be regarded as prima facie just, 
reasonable and correct; but the court may, when it deems 
necessary, in the interest of justice, remand to the commis- 
sion any case pending on appeal, and require the same to be 
further investigated by the commission, and reported upon 
to the court (together with a certificate of such additional 
evidence as may be tendered before the commission by any 
party in interest), before the appeal is finally decided. 

(g) Whenever the court, upon appeal, shall reverse an or- 
der of the commission affecting the rates, charges or the 
classification of traffic of any transportation or transmission 
company, it shall, at the same time, substitute therefor such 
order as, in its opinion, the commission should have made at 
the time of entering the order appealed from; otherwise, the 
reversal order shall not be valid. Such substituted order 
shall have the same force and effect (and none other) as if it 
had been entered by the commission at the time the original 
order appealed from was entered. The right of the com- 
mission to prescribe and enforce rates, charges, classifications, 
rules and regulations, affecting amy or all actions of the com- 
mission theretofore entered by it and appealed from, but 
based upon circumstances or conditions different from those 
existing at the time the order appealed from was made, shall 
not be suspended or impaired by reason of the pendency of 
such appeal; but no order of the commission, prescribing or 



l8o APPENDIX 

altering such rates, charges, classifications, rules or regula- 
tions, shall be retroactive. 

(h) The right of any person to institute and prosecute in 
the ordinary courts of justice, any action, suit or motion 
against any transportation or transmission company, for any 
claim or cause of action against such company, shall not be 
extinguished or impaired, by reason of any fine or other 
penalty which the commission may impose, or be authorized 
to impose, upon such company because of its breach of any 
public duty, or because of its failure to comply with any order 
or requirement of the commission; but, in no such proceeding 
by any person against such corporation, nor in any collateral 
proceeding, shall the reasonableness, justness or validity of 
any rate, charge, classification of traffic, rule, regulation or 
requirement, theretofore prescribed by the commission, within 
the scope of its authority, and then in force, be questioned: 
provided, however, that no case based upon or involving any 
order of the commission shall be heard, or disposed of, against 
the objection of either party, so long as such order is sus- 
pended in its operation by an order of the Supreme Court of 
Appeals as authorized by this Constitution or by any law 
passed in pursuance thereof. 

(/) The commission shall make annual reports to the 
Governor of its proceedings, in which reports it shall recom- 
mend, from time to time, such new or additional legislation in 
reference to its powers or duties, or to the creation, super- 
vision, regulation or control of corporations, or to the sub- 
ject of taxation, as it may deem wise or expedient, or as may 
be required by law. 

(k) Upon the organization of the State Corporation Com- 
mission, the Board of Public Works and the office of Railroad 
Commissioner, shall cease to exist; and all books, papers and 
documents pertaining thereto, shall be transferred to, and 
become a part of the records of, the office of the State Cor- 
poration Commission. 

(/) After the first day of January, nineteen hundred and 
five, in addition to the modes of amendment provided for in 
Article Fifteen of this Constitution, the General Assembly, 
upon the recommendation of the State Corporation Commis- 
sion, may, by law, from time to time, amend sub-sections a to 
i, inclusive, of this section, or any of them, or any such 



CONSTITUTION OF VIRGINIA 



181 



amendment thereof: provided, that no amendment made 
under authority of this sub-section shall contravene the pro- 
visions of any part of this Constitution other than the sub- 
sections last above referred to or any such amendment 
thereof. 

Sec. 157. Provision shall be made by general laws for the 
payment of a fee to the Commonwealth by every domestic 
corporation, upon the granting, amendment or extension of 
its charter, and by every foreign corporation upon obtaining 
a license to do business in this State as specified in this sec- 
tion; and also for the payment, by every domestic corpo- 
ration, and foreign corporation doing business in this State, 
of an annual registration fee of not less than five dollars nor 
more than twenty-five dollars, which shall be irrespective of 
any specific license, or other, tax imposed by law upon such 
company for the privilege of carrying on its business in this 
State, or upon its franchise or property; and for the making, 
by every such corporation (at the time of paying such annual 
registration fee), of such report to the State Corporation 
Commission, of the status, business or condition of such cor- 
poration, as the General Assembly may prescribe. No for- 
eign corporation shall have authority to do business in this 
State, until it shall have first obtained from the commission 
a license to do business in this State, upon such terms and 
conditions as may be prescribed by law. The failure by any 
corporation for two successive years to pay its annual regis- 
tration fee, or to make its said annual reports, shall, when 
such failure shall have continued for ninety days after the 
expiration of such two years, operate as a revocation and 
annulment of the charter of such corporation if it be a do- 
mestic company, or, of its license to do business in this State 
if it be a foreign company; and the General Assembly shall 
provide additional and suitable penalties for the failure of any 
corporation to comply promptly with the requirements of this 
section, or of any laws passed in pursuance thereof. The com- 
mission shall compel all corporations to comply promptly 
with such requirements, by enforcing, in the manner herein- 
before authorized, such fines and penalties against the delin- 
quent company as may be provided for, or authorized by, this 
article; but the General Assembly may relieve from the pay- 



1 82 APPENDIX 

fnent of the said registration fee any purely charitable in- 
stitution or institutions. 

Sec. 158. Every corporation heretofore chartered in this 
State, which shall hereafter accept, or effect, any amendment 
or extension of its charter, shall be conclusively presumed to 
have thereby surrendered every exemption from taxation, 
and every non-repealable feature of its charter and of the 
amendments thereof, and also all exclusive rights, or priv- 
ileges theretofore granted to it by the General Assembly and 
not enjoyed by other corporations of a similar general char- 
acter; and to have thereby agreed to thereafter hold its char- 
ter and franchises, and all amendments thereof, under the 
provisions and subject to all the requirements, terms and con- 
ditions of this Constitution and of any laws passed in 
pursuance thereof, so far as the same may be applicable to 
such corporation. 

Sec. 159. The exercise of the right of eminent domain 
shall never be abridged, nor so construed as to prevent the 
General Assembly from taking the property and franchises 
of corporations and subjecting them to public use, the same 
as the property of individuals; and the exercise of the police 
power of the State shall never be abridged, nor so construed 
as to permit corporations to conduct their business in such 
manner as to infringe the equal rights of individuals or the 
general well-being of the State. 

Sec. 160. No transportation or transmission company shall 
charge or receive any greater compensation, in the aggre- 
gate, for transporting the same class of passengers or prop- 
erty, or for transmitting the same class of messages, over a 
shorter than over a longer distance, along the same line and 
in the same direction — the shorter being included in the 
longer distance; but this section shall not be construed as 
authorizing any such company to charge or receive as great 
compensation for a shorter as for a longer distance. The 
State Corporation Commission may, from time to time, au- 
thorize any such company to disregard the foregoing provi- 
sions of this section, by charging such rates as the commis- 
sion may prescribe as just and equitable between such com- 
pany and the public, to or from any junctional or competitive 
points or localities, or where the competition of points located 
without this State may make necessary the prescribing of 



CONSTITUTION OF VIRGINIA 1 83 

special rates for the protection of the commerce of this State; 
but this section shall not apply to mileage tickets, or to any 
special excursion, or commutation, rates, or to special rates 
for services rendered to the government of this State, or of 
the United States, or in the interest of some public object, 
when such tickets or rates shall have been prescribed or au- 
thorized by the commission. 

Sec. 161. No transportation or transmission company do- 
ing business in this State shall grant to any member of the 
Ger.e r al Assembly, or to any state, county, district or muni- 
cipal officer, except to members and officers of the State Cor- 
poration Commission for their personal use while in office, 
any frank, free pass, free transportation, or any rebate or 
reduction in the rates charged by such company to the gen- 
eral public for like services. For violation of the provisions 
of this section the offending company shall be liable to such 
penalties as may be prescribed by law; and any member of 
the General Assembly, or any such officer, who shall, while 
in office, accept any gift, privilege or benefit as is prohibited 
by this section, shall thereby forfeit his office, and be subject 
to such further penalties as may be prescribed by law; but 
this section shall not prevent a street railway company from 
transporting free of charge any member of the police force 
or fire department while in the discharge of his official duties, 
nor prohibit the acceptance by any such policeman or fireman 
of such free transportation. 

Sec. 162. The doctrine of fellow-servant, so far as it af- 
fects the liability of the master for injuries to his servant 
resulting from the acts or omissions of any other servant or 
servants of the common master, is, to the extent hereinafter 
seated, abolished as to every employee of a railroad company, 
engaged in the physical construction, repair or maintenance 
of its roadway, track or any of the structures connected 
therewith, or in any work in or upon a car or engine standing 
upon a track, or in the physical operation of a train, car, en- 
gine, or switch, or in any service requiring his presence upon 
a train, car or engine; and every such employee shall have 
the same right to recover for every injury suffered by him 
from the acts or omissions of any other employee or em- 
ployees of the common master, that a servant would have (at 
the time when this Constitution goes into effect), if such acts 



184 APPENDIX 

or omissions were those of the master himself in the per- 
formance of a non-assignable duty: provided, that the injury, 
so suffered by such railroad employee, result from the negli- 
gence of an officer, or agent, of the company of a higher 
grade of service than himself, or from that of a person, em- 
ployed by the company, having the right, or charged with 
the duty, to control or direct the general services or the 
immediate work of the party injured, or the general services 
or the immediate work of the co-employee through, or by, 
whose act or omission he is injured; or that it result from the 
negligence of a co-employee engaged in another department 
of labor, or engaged upon, or in charge of, any car upon 
which, or upon the train of which it is a part, the injured 
employee is not at the time of receiving the injury, or who 
is in charge of any switch, signal point, or locomotive engine, 
or is charged with dispatching trains or transmitting tele- 
graphic or telephonic orders therefor; and whether such neg- 
ligence be in the performance of an assignable or non-assign- 
able duty. The physical construction, repair or maintenance 
of the roadway, track or any of the structures connected 
therewith, and the physical construction, repair, maintenance, 
cleaning or operation of trains, cars or engines, shall be re- 
garded as different departments of labor within the meaning 
of this section. Knowledge, by any such railroad employee 
injured, of the defective or unsafe character or condition of 
any machinery, ways, appliances or structures, shall be no 
defence to an action for injury caused thereby. When death, 
whether instantaneous or not, results to such an employee 
from any injury for which he could have recovered, under 
the above provisions, had death not occurred, then his legal 
or personal representatives, surviving consort, and relatives 
(and any trustee, curator, committee or guardian of such 
consort or relatives) shall, respectively, have the same rights 
and remedies with respect thereto as if his death had been 
caused by the negligence of a co-employee while in the per- 
formance, as vice-principal, of a non-assignable duty of the 
master. Every contract or agreement, express or implied, 
made by an employee, to waive the benefit of this section, 
shall be null and void. This section shall not be construed 
to deprive any employee, or his legal or personal representa- 
tive, surviving consort or relatives (or any trustee, curator, 



CONSTITUTION OF VIRGINIA 185 

committee or guardian of such consort or relatives), of any 
rights or remedies that he or they may have by the law of the 
land, at the time this Constitution goes into effect. Nothing 
contained in this section shall restrict the power of the Gen- 
eral Assembly to further enlarge, for the above-named class 
of employees, the rights and remedies hereinbefore pro- 
vided for, or to extend such rights and remedies to, or other- 
wise enlarge the present rights and remedies of.: any other 
class of employees of railroads or of employees of any per- 
son, firm or corporation. 

Sec. 163. No foreign corporation shall be authorized to 
carry on, in this State, the business, or to exercise any of the 
powers or functions, of a public service corporation, or be 
permitted to do anything which domestic corporations are 
prohibited from doing, or be relieved from compliance with 
any of the requirements made of similar domestic corpora- 
tions by the Constitution and laws of this State, where the 
same can be made applicable to such foreign corporation 
without discriminating against it. But this section shall not 
affect any public service corporation whose line or route ex- 
tends across the boundary of this Commonwealth, nor pre- 
vent any foreign corporation from continuing in such lawful 
business as it may be actually engaged in within this State, 
when this Constitution goes into effect; but any such foreign 
public service corporation, so engaged, shall not, without 
first becoming incorporated under the laws of this State, be 
authorized to acquire, lease, use or operate, within this State, 
any public or municipal franchise or franchises in addition 
to such as it may own, lease, use or operate when this Con- 
stitution goes into effect. The property, within this State, 
of foreign corporations shall always be subject to attachment, 
the same as that of non-resident individuals; and nothing in 
this section shall restrict the power of the General Assembly 
to discriminate against foreign corporations whenever, and 
in whatsoever respect, it may deem wise or expedient. 

Sec. 164. The right of the Commonwealth, through such 
instrumentalities as it may select, to prescribe and define the 
public duties of all common carriers and public service cor- 
porations, to regulate and control them in the performance of 
their public duties, and to fix and limit their charges there- 
for, shall never be surrendered nor abridged. 



l86 APPENDIX 

Sec. 165. The General Assembly shall enact laws prevent- 
ing all trusts, combinations and monopolies, inimical to the 
public welfare. 

Sec. 166. The exclusive right to build or operate railroads 
parallel to its own, or any other, line of railroads, shall not 
be granted to any company; but every railroad company shall 
have the right, subject to such reasonable regulations as may 
be prescribed by law, to parallel, intersect, connect with or 
cross, with its roadway, any other railroad or railroads; but 
no railroad company shall build or operate any line of rail- 
road not specified in its charter, or in some amendment 
thereof. All railroad companies, whose lines of railroad con- 
nect, shall receive and transport each other's passengers, 
freight, and loaded or empty cars, without delay or discrim- 
ination. Nothing in this section shall deprive the General 
Assembly of the right to prevent by statute, repealable at 
pleasure, any railroad from being built parallel to the present 
line of the Richmond, Fredericksburg and Potomac railroad. 

Sec. 167. The General Assembly shall enac-t general laws 
regulating and controlling all issues of stock and bonds by 
corporations. Whenever stock or bonds are to be issued by 
a corporation, it shall, before issuing the same, file with the 
State Corporation Commission a statement (verified by the 
oath of the president or secretary of the corporation, and in 
such form as may be prescribed or permitted by the com- 
mission) setting forth fully and accurately the basis, or finan- 
cial plan, upon which such stock or bonds are to be issued; 
and where such basis or plan includes services or property 
(other than money), received or to be received by the com- 
pany, such statement shall accurately specify and describe, in 
the manner prescribed, or permitted, by the commission, the 
services and property, together with the valuation at which 
the same are received or to be received; and such corporation 
shall comply with any other requirements or restrictions 
which may be imposed by law. The General Assembly shall 
provide adequate penalties for the violation of this section, 
or of any laws passed in pursuance thereof; and it shall be 
the duty of the commission to adjudge, and enforce (in the 
manner hereinbefore provided), against any corporation re- 
fusing or failing to comply with the provisions of this sec- 
tion, or of any laws passed in pursuance thereof, such fines 



CONSTITUTION OF VIRGINIA 187 

and penalties as are authorized by this Constitution, or may 
be prescribed by law. 

ARTICLE XIII. 

TAXATION AND FINANCE. 

Sec. 168. All property, except as hereinafter provided, 
shall be taxed; all taxes, whether state, local, or municipal, 
shall be uniform upon the same class of. subjects within the 
territorial limits of the authority levying the tax, and shall 
be levied and collected under general laws. 

Sec. 169. Except as hereinafter provided, all assessments 
of real estate and tangible personal property shall be at their 
fair market value, to be ascertained as prescribed by law. 
The General Assembly may allow a lower rate of taxation to 
be imposed for a period of years by a city or town upon 
land added to its corporate limits, than is imposed on similar 
property within its limits at the time such land is added. 
Nothing in this Constitution shall prevent the General As- 
sembly, after the first day of January, nineteen hundred and 
thirteen, from segregating for the purposes of taxation, the 
several kinds or classes of property, so as to specify and de- 
termine upon what subjects, state taxes, and upon what sub- 
jects, local taxes may be levied. 

Sec. 170. The General Assembly may levy a tax on in- 
comes in excess of six hundred dollars per annum; may levy 
a license tax upon any business which cannot be reached by 
the ad valorem system; and may impose state franchise 
taxes, and in imposing a franchise tax, may, in its discre- 
tion, make the same in lieu of taxes upon other property, in 
whole or in part, of a transportation, industrial, or commer- 
cial corporation. Whenever a franchise tax shall be imposed 
upon a corporation doing business in this State, or whenever 
all the capital, however invested, of a corporation chartered 
under the laws of this State, shall be taxed, the shares of 
stock issued by any such corporation, shall not be further 
taxed. No city or town shall impose any tax or assessment 
upon abutting land owners for street or other public local 
improvements, except for making and improving the walk- 
ways upon then existing streets, and improving and paving 



155 APPENDIX 

then existing alleys, and for either the construction, or for 
the use of sewers; and the same when imposed, shall not be 
in excess of the peculiar benefits resulting therefrom to such 
abutting land owners. Except in cities and towns, no such 
taxes or assessments, for local public improvements shall 
be imposed on abutting land owners. 

Sec. i 71. The General Assembly shall provide for a re- 
assessment of real estate, in the year nineteen hundred and 
five, and every fifth year thereafter, except that of railway 
and canal corporations, which, after January the first, nineteen 
hundred and thirteen, may be assessed as the General As- 
sembly may provide. 

Sec. 172. The General Assembly shall provide for the spe- 
cial and separate assessment of all coal and other mineral 
land;4)Ut until such special assessment is made, such land 
shall be assessed under existing laws. 

Sec. 173. The General Assembly shall levy a state capita- 
tion tax of, and not exceeding, one dollar and fifty cents per 
annum on every male resident of the State not less than 
twenty-one years of age, except those pensioned by this 
State for military services; one dollar of which shall be ap- 
plied exclusively in aid of the public free schools, in propor- 
tion to the school population, and the residue shall be re- 
turned and paid by the State into the treasury of the county 
or city in which it was collected, to be appropriated by the 
proper county or city authorities to such county or city pur- 
poses as they shall respectively determine; but said state 
capitation tax shall not be a lien upon, nor collected by legal 
process from, the personal property which may be exempt 
from levy, or distress under the poor debtor's law. The Gen- 
eral Assembly may authorize the board of supervisors of any 
county, or the council of any city or town, to levy an addi- 
tional capitation tax not exceeding one dollar per annum on 
every such resident within its limits, which shall be applied 
in aid of the public schools of such county, city or town, or 
for such other county, city or town purposes "as they shall 
determine. 

Sec. 174. After this Constitution shall be in force, no 
statute of limitation shall run against any claim of the State 
for taxes upon any property; nor shall the failure to assess 
property for taxation defeat a subsequent assessment for and 



CONSTITUTION OF VIRGINIA IoO, 

collection of taxes for any preceding year or years, unless 
such property shall have passed to a bona fide purchaser for 
value, without notice; in which latter case the property shall 
be assessed for taxation against such purchaser from the date 
of his purchase. 

Sec. 175. The natural oyster beds, rocks, and shoals, in 
the waters of this State, shall not be leased, rented or sold, but 
shall be held in trust for the benefit of the people of this 
State, subject to such regulations and restrictions as the 
General Assembly may prescribe, but the General Assembly 
may, from time to time, define and determine such natural 
beds, rocks or shoals, by- surveys or otherwise. 

Sec. 176. The State Corporation Commission shall an- 
nually ascertain and assess, at the time hereinafter men- 
tioned, and in the manner required of the Board of Public 
Works, by the law in force on January the first, nineteen hun- 
dred and two, the value of the roadbed, and other real estate, 
rolling stock, and all other personal property whatsoever 
(except its franchise and the non-taxable shares of stock is- 
sued by other corporations) in this State, of each railway cor- 
poration, whatever its motive power, now or hereafter liable 
for taxation upon such property; the canal bed and other real 
estate, the boats and all other personal property whatso- 
ever (except its franchise and the non-taxable shares of stock 
issued by other corporations) in this State, of each canal 
corporation, empowered to conduct transportation; and such 
property shall be taxed for state, county, city, town, and dis- 
trict purposes in the same manner as authorized by said law, 
at such rates of taxation as may be imposed by them, re- 
spectively, from time to time, upon the real estate and per- 
sonal property of natural persons: provided, that no tax shall 
be laid upon the net income of such corporation. 

Sec. 177. Each such railway or canal corporation, in- 
cluding also any such as is exempt from taxation as to its 
works, visible property, or profits, shall also pay an annual 
state franchise tax equal to one per centum upon the gross 
receipts hereinafter specified in section One Hundred and 
Seventy-eight, for the privilege of exercising its franchises in 
this State, which, with the taxes provided for in section One 
Hundred and Seventy-six, shall be in lieu of all other taxes 
or license charges whatsoever upon the franchises of such 



190 APPENDIX 

corporation, the shares of stock issued by it, and upon its 
property assessed under section One Hundred and Seventy- 
six: provided, that nothing herein contained shall exempt 
such corporation from the annual fee required by section One 
Hundred and Fifty-seven of this Constitution, or from assess- 
ments for street and other public local improvements author- 
ized by section One Hundred and Seventy; and provided, 
further, that nothing herein contained shall annul or interfere 
with, or prevent any contract or agreement by ordinance be- 
tween street railway corporations and municipalities, as to 
compensation for the use of the streets or alleys of such 
municipalities by such railway corporations. 

Sec. T78. The amount of such franchise tax shall be equal 
to one per centum of the gross transportation receipts of 
such corporations for the year ending June the thirtieth of 
each year, to be ascertained by the State Corporation Com- 
mission, in the following manner: 

(a) "When the road or canal of the corporation lies wholly 
within this State, the tax shall be equal to one per centum 
of the entire gross transportation receipts of such corpora- 
tion. 

(b) When the road or canal of the corporation lies partly 
within and partly without this State, or is operated as a part 
of a line or system extending beyond this State; the tax shall 
be equal to one per centum of the gross transportation re- 
ceipts earned within this State, to be determined as follows: 
By ascertaining the average gross transportation receipts per 
mile over its whole extent within and without this State, 
and multiplying the result by the number of miles operated 
within this State: provided, that from the sum so ascertained 
there may be a reasonable deduction because of any excess 
of value of the terminal facilities or other similar advantages 
in other states over similar facilities or advantages in this 
State. 

Sec. T79. Each corporation mentioned in' sections One 
Hundred and Seventy-six and One Hundred and Seventy- 
seven shall annually, on the first day of September, make to 
the State Corporation Commission the report which the law, 
in force January the first, nineteen hundred and two, required 
to be made annually to the Board of Public Works by every 
railroad and canal company in this State, not exempt from 



CONSTITUTION OF VIRGINIA I9I 

taxation by virtue of its charter, which report shall also show 
the property taxable in this State belonging to the corpora- 
tion on the thirtieth day of June preceding, and its total gross 
transportation receipts for the year ending on that date. 
Upon receiving such report the State Corporation Commis- 
sion shall, after thirty days' notice previously given, as pro- 
vided by said law, assess the value of the property not ex- 
empt from taxation, of the corporation, and ascertain the 
amount of the franchise tax and other state taxes chargeable 
against it. All taxes for which the corporation is liable shall 
be paid on or before the first day of December following. 
The provisions of said law, except as changed by this article, 
shall apply to the ascertainment and collection of the fran- 
chise, as well as other taxes of such corporations. Said taxes, 
until paid, shall be a lien upon the property within this State 
of the corporation owning the same, and take precedence of 
all other liens or incumbrances. 

Sec. 180. Any corporation aggrieved by the assessment 
and ascertainment made under sections One 'Hundred and 
Seventy-six and One Hundred and Seventy-eight may, with- 
in thirty days after receiving a certified copy thereof, apply 
for relief to the circuit court of the city of Richmond. No- 
tice of the application, setting forth the grounds of com- 
plaint, verified by affidavit, shall be served on the State Cor- 
poration Commission, and on the Attorney-General whose 
duty it shall be to represent the State. The court, if of 
opinion that the assessment or tax is excessive, shall reduce 
the same; but, if of opinion, that it is insufficient, shall in- 
crease the same. Unless the applicant paid the taxes under 
protest, when due, the court, if it disallow the application, 
shall give judgment against it for a sum, by way of dam- 
ages, equal to interest at the rate of one per centum per month 
upon the amount of taxes from the time the same were pay- 
able. If the application be allowed, in whole or in part, 
appropriate relief shall be granted, including the right to 
recover any excess of taxes that may have been paid, with 
legal interest thereon, and costs, from the State or local au- 
thorities, or both, as the case may be; the judgment to be 
enforceable by mandamus or other proper process issuing 
from the court finally adjudicating the application. Subject 
to the provisions of Article Six of this Constitution, the Su- 



192 APPENDIX 

preme Court of Appeals may allow a writ of error to either 
party. 

Sec. 181. After January the first, nineteen hundred and 
three, the system of taxation, as to the corporations men- 
tioned in sections One Hundred and Seventy-six and One 
Hundred and Seventy-seven, shall be as set forth in sections 
One Hundred and Seventy-six to One Hundred and Eighty, 
inclusive; and for that year the franchise tax shall be based 
upon such gross receipts for the year ending the thirtieth 
day of June, nineteen hundred and three, and such system 
shall so remain until the first day of January, nineteen hun- 
dred and thirteen, and thereafter until modified or changed, 
as may be prescribed by law: provided, that, if the said sys- 
tem shall for any reason become inoperative, the General 
Assembly shall have power to adopt some other system. 

Sec. 182. Until otherwise prescribed by law, the shares of 
stock issued by trust or security companies chartered by this 
State, and by incorporated banks, shall be taxed in the same 
manner in which the shares of stock issued by incorporated 
banks were taxed, by the law in force January the first, nine- 
teen hundred and two; but from the total assessed value of 
the shares of stock of any such company or bank, there shall 
be deducted the assessed value of its real estate otherwise 
taxed in this State, and the value of each share of stock shall 
be its proportion of the remainder. 

Sec. 183. Except as otherwise provided in this Con- 
stitution, the following property and no other, shall be ex- 
empt from taxation, state and local; but the General Assem- 
bly may hereafter tax any of the property hereby exempted 
save that mentioned in sub-section (a) : 

(a) Property directly or indirectly owned by the State, 
however held, and property lawfully owned and held by 
counties, cities, towns, or school districts, used wholly and 
exclusively for county, city, town, or public school purposes, 
and obligations issued by the State since the fourteenth 
day of February, eighteen hundred and eighty-two or here- 
after exempted by law. 

(b) Buildings with land they actually occupy, and the fur- 
niture and furnishings therein lawfully owned and held by 
churches or religious bodies, and wholly and exclusively used 
for religious worship, or for the residence of the minister 



CONSTITUTION OF VIRGINIA I93 

ol any such church or religious body, together with the ad- 
ditional adjacent land reasonably necessary for the conven- 
ient use of any such building. 

(c) Private family burying-grounds not exceeding one acre 
in area, reserved as such by will or deed, or shown by other 
sufficient evidence to be reserved as such, and so exclusively 
used, and public burying-grounds and lots therein exclusively 
used for burial purposes, and not conducted for profit, 
whether owned or managed by local authorities or by private 
corporations. 

(d) Buildings with the land they actually occupy and tht 
furniture, furnishings, books and instruments therein, wholly 
devoted to educational purposes, belonging to, and actually 
and exclusively occupied and used by churches, public li- 
braries, incorporated colleges, academies, industrial schools, 
seminaries, or other incorporated institutions of learning, in- 
cluding the Virginia Historical Society, which are not cor- 
porations having shares of stock or otherwise owned by in 
dividuals or other corporations; together with such additional 
adjacent land owned by such churches, libraries and educa- 
tional institutions as may be reasonably necessary for the 
convenient use of such buildings, respectively; and also the 
buildings thereon used as residences by the officers or instruc- 
tors of such educational institutions; and also the permanent 
endowment funds held by such libraries and educational insti- 
tutions directly or in trust, and not invested in real estate: 
provided, that such libraries and educational institutions are 
not conducted for profit of any person or persons, natural 
or corporate, directly, or under any guise or pretence whatso- 
ever. But the exemption mentioned in this sub-section shall 
not apply to any industrial school, individual or corporate, 
not the property of the State, which does work for com- 
pensation, or manufactures and sells articles, in the com- 
munity in which such school is located; provided, that nothing 
herein contained shall restrict any such school from d'ling 
work for or selling its own products or any other articles vo 
any of its students or employees. 

(e) Real estate belonging to, actually and exclusively oc- 
cupied, and used by. and personal property, including en- 
dowment funds, belonging to Young Men's Christian Associa- 
tions, and other similar religious associations, orphan o* 



FQ4 APPENDIX 

other asylums, reformatories, hospitals and nunneries, which 
are not conducted for profit, but purely and completely as 
charities. 

(f) Buildings with the land they actually occupy, and the 
furniture and furnishings therein, belonging to any benevo- 
lent or charitable association and used exclusively for lodge 
purposes or meeting rooms by such association, together 
with such additional adjacent land as may be necessary for 
the convenient use of the buildings for such purposes; and 

(g) Property belonging to the Association for the Preser- 
vation of Virginia Antiquities, the Confederate Memorial 
Literary Society, and the Mount Vernon Ladies' Association 
of the Union. 

No inheritance tax shall be charged, directly or indirectly, 
against any legacy or devise made according to law for the 
benefit of any institution or other body <\ any natural or 
corporate person whose property is exempt from taxation 
as hereinbefore mentioned in this section. 

Nothing contained in this section shall be construed to ex- 
empt from taxation the property :A any person, firm, asso- 
ciation or corporation, whr shall, expressly or impliedly, di- 
rectly or indirectly, contract or promise to pay any sum of 
money or other benefit, on account of death, sickness, or acci- 
dent to any of its members or any other person; and when- 
ever any building or land, or part thereof, mentioned in this 
section and not belonging to the State, shall be leased or 
shall be a source of revenue or profit, all of such buildings 
and land shall be liable to taxation as other land and buildings 
in the :«ame county, city, or town; and nothing herein con- 
tained shall be construed as authorizing or requiring any 
county, city, or town to tax for county, city or town purposes, 
m violation of the rights of the lessees thereof existing under 
any lawful contract heretofore made, any real estate owned 
by such count}', city or town, and heretofore leased by it. 

Obligations issued by counties, cities, or towns may be 
exempted by the authorities of such localities from local taxa- 
tion. 

Sec. 184. No debt shall be contracted by the State except 
to meet casual deficits in the revenue, to redeem a previous 
liability of the State, to suppress insurrection, reoel invasion, 
or defend the State in time of war. No scrip, certificate, or 



CONSTITUTION OF VIRGINIA Ip5 

other evidence of state indebtedness, shall be issued except 
(or the transfer or redemption of stock previously issued, or 
(or .such debts as are expressly authorized in this Constitu- 
tion. 

Sec. 185., Neither the credit of the State, nor of any coun- 
ty, city, or town, shall be, directly or indirectly, under any 
device or pretence whatsoever, granted to or in aid of any 
person, association, or corporation; nor shall the State, or 
any county, city, or town subscribe to or become interested 
in the stock or obligations of any company, association, or 
corporation, for the purpose of aiding in the construction or 
maintenance of its work; nor shall the State become a party 
to or become interested in any work of internal improve- 
ment, except public roads, or engaged in carrying on any 
such work; nor assume any indebtedness of any county, city, 
or town, nor lend its credit to the same; but this section shall 
not prevent a county, city or town from perfecting a sub- 
scription to the capital stock of a railroad company au- 
thorized by existing charter conditioned upon the affirmative 
vote of the voters and freeholders of such county, city or 
town in favor of such subscription: provided, that such vote 
be had prior to July first, nineteen hundred and three. 

Sec. 186. All taxes, licenses, and other revenue of the 
State, shall be collected by its proper officers and paid into 
the state treasury. No money shall be paid out of the state 
treasury except in pursuance of appropriations made by law; 
and no such appropriation shall be made which is payable 
more than two years after the end of the session of the- 
General Assembly, at which the law is enacted authorizing 
the same; and no appropriation shall be made for the pay- 
ment of any debt or obligation created in the name of the 
State during the war between the Confederate States and the 
United States. Nor shall any county, city, or town pay any 
debt or obligation created by such county, city, or town in 
aid of -said war. 

Sec. 187. The General Assembly shall provide and main- 
tain a sinking fund in accordance with the provisions of sec- 
tion Ten of the act, approved February the twentieth, eighteen 
hundred and ninety-two, entitled, " an act to provide for the 
settlement of the public debt of Virginia not funded under 
the provisions of an act entitled an act to ascertain and de- 



I96 APPENDIX 

clare Virginia's equitable share of the debt created before, 
and actually existing at the time of the partition of her 
territory and resources, and to provide for the issuance of 
bonds covering the same, and the regular and prompt pay- 
ment of the interest thereon, approved February the four- 
teenth, eighteen hundred and eighty-two." Every law here- 
after enacted by the General Assembly, creating a debt or 
authorizing a loan, shall provide for the creation and main- 
tenance of a sinking fund for the payment or redemption of 
the same. 

Sec. 188. No other or greater amount of tax or revenue 
shall, at any time, be levied than may be required for the 
necessary expenses of the government, or to pay the indebt- 
edness of the State. 

Sec. 189. On all lands and the improvements thereon, and 
on all tangible personal property, not exempt from taxation 
by the provisions of this article, the rate of state taxation 
shall be twenty cents on every hundred dollars of the assessed 
value thereof, the proceeds of which shall be applied to the 
expenses of the government and the indebtedness of the 
State and a further tax of ten cents on every hundred dollars 
of the assessed value thereof, which shall be applied to the 
support of the public free schools of the State: provided, that 
after the first day of January, nineteen hundred and seven, the 
tax rate upon said real and personal property, for such pur- 
poses shall be prescribed by law. But the General Assembly 
during such period of four years, in addition to making an- 
nually an appropriation for pensions not to exceed the last 
appropriation made for such purpose prior to September the 
thirtieth, nineteen hundred and one, may levy annually, a 
special tax for pensions, on such real and personal property 
of not exceeding five cents on the hundred dollars of the as- 
sessed value thereof. 

ARTICLE XIV. 

MISCELLANEOUS PROVISIONS. 

Homestead and Other Exemptions. 

Sec 190. Every householder or head of a family shall be 
entitled, in addition to the articles now exempt from levy or 



CONSTITUTION OF VIRGINIA 19/ 

distress for rent, to hold exempt from levy, seizure, garnish- 
ment, or sale, under any execution, order, or other process is- 
sued on any demand for a debt hereafter contracted, his real 
and personal property, or either, including money and debts 
due him, to the value of not exceeding two thousand dollars, 
to be selected by him: provided, that such exemption shall 
not extend to any execution, order, or other process issued 
on any demand in the following cases: 

First. For the purchase price of said property, or any part 
thereof. If the property purchased, and not paid for, be ex- 
changed for, or converted into, other property by the debtor, 
such last-named property shall not be exempted from the 
payment of such unpaid purchase money under the pro- 
visions of this article; 

Second. For services rendered by a laboring person or 
mechanic; 

Third. For liabilities incurred by any public officer, or 
officer of a court, or any fiduciary, or any attorney-at-law for 
money collected; 

Fourth. For a lawful claim for any taxes, levies, or assess- 
ments accruing after the first day of June, eighteen hundred 
and sixty-six; 

Fifth. For rent; 

Sixth. For the legal or taxable fees of any public officer or 
officer of a court. 

Sec. 191. The said exemption shall not be claimed or held 
in a shifting stock of merchandise, or in any property, the 
conveyance of which by the homestead claimant has been set 
aside on the ground of fraud or want of consideration. 

Sec. 192. The General Assembly shall prescribe the man- 
ner and the conditions on which a householder or head of a 
family shall set apart and hold for himself and family a home- 
stead in any of the property hereinbefore mentioned. But 
this section shall not be construed as authorizing the General 
Assembly to defeat or impair the benefits intended to be con- 
ferred by the provisions of this article. 

Sec. 193. Nothing contained in this article shall invalidate 
any homestead exemption heretofore claimed under the pro- 
visions of the former Constitution; or impair in any manner 
the right of any householder or head of a family existing at 
the time that this Constitution goes into effect, to select the 



I98 APPENDIX 

exemption, or any part thereof, to which he was entitled 
under the former Constitution: provided that such right, if 
hereafter exercised, be not in conflict with the exemptions set 
forth in sections One Hundred and Ninety and One Hun- 
dred and Ninety-one. But no person who has selected and 
received the full exemption allowed by the former Constitu- 
tion shall be-^entitled to select an additional exemption under 
this Constitution; and no person who has selected and re- 
ceived part of the exemption allowed by the former Con- 
stitution shall be entitled to select an additional exemption 
beyond the difference between the value of such part and a 
total valuation of two thousand dollars. So far as neces- 
sary to accomplish the purposes of this section the provisions 
of chapter One Hundred and Seventy-eight of the Code of 
Virginia, and the acts amendatory thereof, shall remain in 
force until repealed by the General Assembly. The pro- 
visions of this article shall be liberally construed. 

Sec. 194. The General Assembly is hereby prohibited from 
passing any law staying the collection of debts, commonly 
known as "stay laws"; but this section shall not be con- 
strued as prohibiting any legislation which the General As- 
sembly may deem necessary to fully carry out the provisions 
of this article. 

HEIRS OF PROPERTY. 

Sec. 195. The children of parents, one or both of whom 
were slaves at and during the period of cohabitation, and who 
were recognized by the father as his children, and whose 
mother was recognized by such father as his wife, and was 
cohabited with as such, shall be as capable of inheriting any 
estate whereof such father may have died seised, or possessed, 
or to which he was entitled, as though they had been born in 
lawful wedlock. 

ARTICLE XV. 

FUTURE CHANGES IN THE CONSTITUTION. 

Sec. 196. Any amendment or amendments to the Constitu- 
tion may be proposed in the Senate or House of Delegates, 



CONSTITUTION OF VIRGINIA. 1 99 

?rd if the same shall be agreed to by a majority of the num- 
bers elected to each of the two houses, such proposed amend- 
ment or amendments shall be entered on their journals, with 
the ayes and noes taken thereon, and referred to the General 
Assembly at its first regular session held after the next gen- 
eral election of members of the House of Delegates, and shall 
be published for three months previous to the time of such 
election. If, at such regular session the proposed amendment 
or amendments shall be agreed to by a majority of all the 
members elected to each house, then it shall be the duty of the 
General Assembly to submit such proposed amendment or 
amendments to the people, in such manner and at such times 
as it shall prescribe; and if the people shall approve and ratify 
such amendment or amendments by a majority of the elec- 
tors, qualified to vote for members of the General Assembly, 
voting thereon, such amendment or amendments shall become 
part of the Constitution. 

Sec. 197. At such time as the General Assembly may pro- 
vide, a majority of the members elected to each house being 
recorded in the affirmative, the question, " shall there be a 
convention to revise the Constitution and amend the same?" 
shall be submitted to the electors qualified to vote for mem- 
bers of the General Assembly; and in case a majority of the 
electors so qualified, voting thereon, shall vote in favor of a 
convention for such purpose, the General Assembly, at its 
next session, shall provide for the election of delegates to 
such convention; and no convention for such purpose shall be 
otherwise called. 



INDEX. 



Actions or suits at law, 72 

Adjournment, neither house can ad- 
journ without the consent of the 
other, 37. 

Adjutant general, 54. 

Administrative officers, of county, 17; 
of cities and towns, 32, 33; of state, 
47-59- 

Allegiances, citizens have two, 13. 

Almshouses, 120. 

Amendments to constitution, 112, 113. 

Answer in suit at law, 74. 

Anti-Federalists, 100. 

Appeals, 63—66. 

Apportionment of senators and dele- 
gates, 41, 42. 

Aristocracy, 11. 

Arrest, 63, 75. 

Assembly, General, how constituted, 
36; members of", 36; sessions of, 37; 
privileges of members, 38; restric- 
tions upon, 40; organizaton of, 41; 
officers of, 41; committees of, 43, n. 1. 

Assessment, of taxes, 107; of land, 26. 

Assessors of land, 26. 

Attainder, bill of, 40; definition of, 40, 
n. 2. 

Attorney general, 53. 

Auditor, of public accounts, 51; second, 

51. 52. 

Bail, 64, 76. 

Ballot boxes, furnished by supervisors, 
20. 

Ballots, official, printed by electoral 
boards, 94; how prepared and de- 
posited, 9 c 96; counting of, 96. 

Bill, legislative, how made a law, 44, 45. 

Bill of attainder, 40; definition of, 40, 
n. 2. 

Bill of Rights of Virginia, 109, 123—126. 

20 



Board, of agriculture, 58; county school, 
85; of education, 81; of dental exam- 
iners, 57; the district board of school 
trustees, 85, 86; fisheries, 57; of 
health, 57; of medical examiners, 57; 
of pharmacy, 57; school trustee elect- 
oral, 84; county and city electoral, 
93- 

Case at law, 61, 67—73, 7^—5. 

Caucus, 102. 

Challenging at elections, 96. 

Jhancery court, 64, n. 1. 

Chancery proceedings, 74. 

Charter, definition of, 29; fundamen- 
tal law of town or city, 29. 

Chattel mortgage, 25, n. 2. 

Circuit court, 64. 

City courts, 66. 

City, definition of, 30; functions of gov- 
ernment of, 30, 31. 

City schools, 89. 

City superintendent of schools, 89. 

Clerk of Senate, 42; of House, 42; of 
county court, 25. 

Coinage of money, 13, 117. 

Commerce, regulations of, 13. 

Commissioners of sinking fund, 56. 

Committees, legislative, 43, n. 1 ; of 
political parties, 101. 

Common law, definition of, 72, n. 1. 

Commonwealth's attorney, 24, 30. 

Congress, each state represented in, 
115; powers of, 117. 

Conscience, liberty of, 10, no. 

Constable, 23. 

Constitution, definition of, 12. 

Constitution of Virginia, revisions of, 
109; outline of, 109-114; text of, 
123-199. 

I 



202 



INDEX. 



Constitution of the United States, inter- 
pretation of, ioo; text of, 201-216. 

Contract, definition of, 24, n. 1 ; obli- 
gations of, not to be impaired, 40. 

Convention, constitutional, 113. 

Coroner, 21, 22. 

Cor, oration, definition of, 16, n. 2. 

Council, 31, 32. 

Counterfeit coins, warrants to search 
for, 22. 

Counting votes, 96, 97. 

County, origin of, 15; formation of 
new, 16; importance of, 16; functions 
of government of, 17; officers of, 17, 
18. 

Count j' clerk, 25. 

County seat, the, 17. 

Court procedure, 72—75. 

Court, the justice's, 62-64; the cir- 
cuit, 64. 65; the supreme of appeals. 
65, 66. 

Crimes, 60. 61, 7$, 78. 

Declaration of Independence, 217—220. 
Declaration in suit at law. 73. 
Decree, definition of, 23, n. 3. 
Deed, definition of, 25, n. 1. 
Defendant, 61. 
Democracy, 11. 

Departments of government, 12. 
District, magisterial, 16; officers of, 18. 
Dtuies, 10; reciprocal of the state and 
the nation, 117. 

Education, history of popular, 80, 81; 

public, 81—89. 
Election, returns, 97, 98; supplies, 94. 
Elections, when held, 92; system of, 

92; how conducted, 95—97; national, 

116. 
Electors, presidential, 116. 
Examination of teachers. 87. 
Execution in suit at law, 23, n. 2. 
Executive officers, of county, 19-27; 

of towns and cities, 32—34; of state, 

47-58. 
Executive power, 47. 
Ex post facto law, definition of, 40, 

n. 3; not to be passed, 40. 

Family, government originates in, 10. 
Federalists, 100. 



Felony, 61; proceedings in cases of, 

7j, 76, 77- 
Fertilizers, inspection of, 53, 54. 
Fiduciary, definition of, 25, n. 4. 
Fines, 63, n. 1 ; 105. 
Fisheries, board of, 57. 
Formation of new counties, 16. 
Formation of towns and cities, 29. 
Free passes prohibited, 58. 
Freedom of press, no. 
Freedom of speech, guaranteed by the 

constitution, no. 
Functions of government, of county. 

17; of town and city. 30, 31; of 

state, 39, 40. 

General Assembly, 36-45. 

General powers of Congress, 13. 117. 

Geologist, ;4. 

Government, origin of, to, ii; forms 
of, 1 1 ; three departments of, 12; 
constitutional, 109. 

Governor, duties of. 47, 4S; qualifica- 
tions of, 49. 50. 
j Grand jury, 69, 70. 

Habeas corpus, definition of, 60, a. 1 : 
78. 

Hampton Normal and Agricultural In- 
stitute, 120. 

House of Delegates. 36; meaning con- 
veyed by, 39 ; qualifications of mem- 
bers of, 37; officers of, 42; com- 
mittees of, 43, n. 1. 

House of Representatives, national, 
115, 116. 

How a aw is made, 44, 45. 

Humane institutions, 120. 

Idiots, not allowed to vote, 129. 

Impeachment, 41. 

Indictment, 77. 

Insane asylums, 120. 

Institution for the Deaf and Blind, 119. 

Insurrection, suppression of, 48. 

Internal improvements, 19. 

Jails, 120. 

Journals of houses of legislature, 42. 
Judge of circuit court, 64; of supreme 
court of appeals, 65, 66. 
i Judgment, definition of, 25, n. 6. 



INDEX. 



203 



Judicial circuits, 121, 122. 

Judicial department, 60-67. 

Judicial power, necessity of, 60; how 
vested, 60. 

Jurisdiction, definition of, 61, 62; of 
justice's court, 62, 63; of circuit 
court, 64, 65 ; of supreme court of 
appeals, 65, 66. 

Jury, grand, 69; petit, 69; how ob- 
tained, 69—72. 

Justice, administration of, 72—78. 

Justice of the peace, 22, 23; court of, 
62—64. 

Kinds of government, 11. 
Kinds of taxes, 104, 105. 

Laurel Industrial School. 120. 

Lawmaking power, 36. 

Laws, defined, 12; classified, 12; the 

making of a, 44, 45. 
Laws of the state, their character and 

scope, 37, 38. 
Legislature, 39, 40. 
Liberty, no. 
License tax, 105. 
Lieutenant governor, 50. 
Literary Fund, 80, n. 1. 
Local government, the county the unit 

of, 16. 

Magisterial district, 16; officers of, 17. 
18. 

Majority of each house, 37. 

Man a social being, 9. 

Mayor, 32, 33. 

Measures and weights, sealer of, 26. 

Meridian, true, 20. 

Message of governor, 48. 

Militia, 54. 

Miller Manual Labor School of Al- 
bemarle, 119, 120. 

Misdemeanor, 61, 76. 

Mode of amending the constitution, 
ii2, 113. 

Monarchy, n. 

Money, power of Congress in regard 
to coining, 13, 117. 

Mortgage, definition of, 25, n. 2. 

Nation, definition of, 12. 
National conventions, 102, 103. 



Nation and state, relations of, 115-117. 
Nature of the Federal government, 13. 
Necessity for government, n. 
Nomination of candidates, 102. 
Normal schools, 87. 
Norman conquest, 15. 
Notary public, 26. 



Oath of office, 18. 

Obiects of government, how best at- 
tained, 12. 

Officers, of county, 17—27; of city and 
town, 32, 33; of state, 45-58. 

Ordinance of city or town, 32. 

Overseers of the poor, 21. 

Pardons, granted by governor, 48. 

Parties, political, origin of, in the 
United States, 100; in what coun- 
tries found, 100; a benefit, 100; or- 
ganization of, 101. 

Party platforms, 103. 

Patents, 13, 117. 

Penal institutions, 120. 

Penitentiary, the. 120. 

Personal property, 105. 

Personal rights, 10. 

Petit jury, 69, 70. 

Plaintiff. 61. 

Polls. 95. 

Poll tax, 104, 105. 

Poor, support of, 21. 

Poor children, provision for education 
of, 81. 

Poorhouse, 120. 

Power, the lawmaking, 36—45; the ex- 
ecutive, 47—58; the judicial, 60—67. 

Precinct, 93. 

President, method of electing, 116. 

Primary meetings and elections, 101, 
102. 

Prison association, 58. 

Privilege tax, 105. 

Probate of wills, 65. 

Probate judge, 25. 

Property tax, 105. 

Prosecuting attorney, 24, 25. 

Public school system, 80, 89. 

Pupils of public schools, 87. 



?04 



INDEX. 



Qualifications, of voters, 91, 92; of 
members of General Assembly, 37; of 
governor and lieutenant governor, 
49, 50. 

Quorum, majority of each house con- 
stitutes, 2>7- 

Record of deeds, 25. 

Registrar of voters, 94. 

Religious freedom, no. 

Representatives, national, 115, 116; num- 
ber of, 116. 

Republic, n. 

Restrictions upon the states, 13, 117. 

Results of elections, 97, 98. 

Revenue, why needed by the state, 104. 

Right of suffrage, 91; qualifications re- 
Rights, 9, 10; different kinds of, 10. 

Rules, each house of the legislature to 
determine its own, 41. 

Ruling of a judge or of a court, 25, 
n. 5. 

quired for exercise of, 91. 

School district, 81. 

School divisions, 81. 

School funds, 87, 88. 

Schools, normal, 87. 

Schools, public, 80—89. 

Search warrant, 22. 

Seat of government, 38. 

Second auditor, 51, 52. 

Secretary of the commonwealth, 50, 51. 

Senate, state, 36; qualifications of mem- 
bers of, 37. 

Sergeant-at-arms, 42. 

Session of legislature, limit of length 
of, 37- 

Sheriff, 23, 24. 

Sinking fund, commissioners of, 56. 

Society, how constituted, 9. 

Speaker of the House of Delegates, 42. 

Speech, freedom of, no. 

State, defined, 12. 

State and nation, relations of, 115— 117. 

State Corporation Commission, 54. 

State Female Normal School, 119. 

State officers, 45—58. 

State tax, 106. 

Statute law, 39, 40. 

Subpoena, definition of, 74, n. 1. 
Suffrage, the right of, 83. 



Suit, proceedings in civil, 72—75; in 

criminal, 75—78. 
Superintendent of public instruction, 83. 
Supervisors, 19; board of, 20. 
Supremacy of the nation, established 

by the Civil War, 115. 
Supreme court of appeals, 65, 66. 
Surveyor, 20, 21. 

Taxes, definition of, 104; reasons for, 
104; objects for which assessed, 106, 
107; restricted by constitution, 107. 

Tax on privileges, 105 . 

Teachers, public school, 87. 

Text-books for schools, 82 ; supplied to 
poor children, 86. 

Tobacco samplers, 56. 

Town, definition of, 30; functions of 
government of, 30, 31. 

ireasurer, countv. 20; city, 33; state, 
5 2 - 

Trial, in civil cases, 73, 74; in criminal 
cases, 77. 

Trial juries, 70, 71. 

United States, 13. 
Unit rule, 102. 

University of Virginia, the founding 
of, 80, n. 1; government of, 119. 

Vacancies, 18, 19. 

Veto, governor's, 49. 

Village, 30. 

Virginia, two allegiances of her citizens, 
13; the first constitutional govern- 
ment in America, 109; outline of the 
government of, 109— 113; constitution 
of, T23-199. 

Virginia Military Institute, 119. 

Virginia Normal and Collegiate Insti- 
tute, 120. 

Virginia Polytechnic Institute, 119. 

Volunteers, 54. 

Voters, qualifications of, 91, 92. 

Voting, places of, 95; method of, 95, 
96; results of, 97, 98. 

Warrant, definitions of, 19, n. 2; 22, 

n. 1. 
Weights and measures, sealer of, 26. 
Will, definition of, 25, n. 3. 
William and Mary College, 119. 
Workhouses, 31. 
Writ, definition of, 23, n. 1. 



LB JL '09 



